


A good neighbor

by neverthecanonOTP



Category: Red Queen Series - Victoria Aveyard
Genre: All The Tropes, Coriane is Cal's daughter, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fake Marriage, Shade is Mare's son, Single Parents, Slow Burn, annoying neighbors, but not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 56,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverthecanonOTP/pseuds/neverthecanonOTP
Summary: Mare is the proud owner of the last house to the left on Notch street. Where she lives a simple, quiet life with her son, Shade.When the empty lot across the street is bought and an obnoxious, luxurious house is built there, disrupting her peace, Mare swears to hate the new neighbor forever.
Relationships: Mare Barrow/Tiberias "Cal" Calore VII
Comments: 171
Kudos: 180





	1. Notch street

**Author's Note:**

> Another shameless installment in the "Annie shoving all of the tropes in a blender" saga. Enjoy.

Notch street lazily crawled up a wooded hill passing by the friendly inhabitants of the quaint little houses hiding behind exuberant vegetation. Nanny’s colorful Mediterranean style house was a neighborhood favorite for social gatherings, also a theatre club took place every Thursday. The Marsten’s residence was where the street gruff lived, Nix Marsten, who liked to pick fights about fences and runaway pets every other week, but who had always proved to have a heart of gold when the situation called for. Ada Wallace’s house was the quietest house at any given moment, one could almost think nobody lived there, if it weren’t for a well-kept porch and immaculate Zen garden, and because if one were to knock, Ada was likely to open the door almost instantly and holding a new book every time. The street stopped at a dead end, where two _very_ different houses faced each other in what seemed a suburban version of an old Hollywood western confrontation. 

The front yard of the house to the right was a wonderful assortment of wildflowers, clover patches, lavender, mint, and other aromatic crops let to grow freely on both sides of a narrow brick path that led to a cozy wooden porch. The soft purple one-story cottage had seen better days, but it had also seen worse days. The current owner had bought it as a fixer-upper, even when the previous owner had grumbled under his breath that it should be demolished. The new owner had dismissed that with the wave of a hand while looking at the place like it was a diamond in the rough. 

Money, hours of work, family cooperation, blood, sweat, and tears had turned the house into a livable space over two years. And since moving in, three years ago, the owner had made major improvements. Sure, the heating system was crap and sometimes one ended up taking an unintentional cold shower. And it was true that the hardwood floors shifted in a strange way during summer, making furniture wobble uncomfortably. But this was home. Mare Barrow’s home and she was damn proud of it. 

Mare loved this place, the neighbors, the wild nature that surrounded the area, the murmur of the nearby stream that lulled her to sleep every night, loved that she could have her whole family over every weekend for meals together. And most of all, she loved to watch her little boy grow up happy and free, running barefoot on the grass and reading the books Ada lent him under a Dogwood tree. 

Shade Barrow was a smart, quiet 7-year-old kid with kind wide eyes like his aunt’s, proud cheekbones and chin, like his mother’s, and his favorite uncle’s name. 

“Tell me, mom. Tell me the story of my name,” he would ask sometimes before lights out, as Mare tucked him into bed. And she would narrate the best parts of a sad tale with the best of endings. 

Mare was barely out of high school when she had found out she was pregnant. A one-night stand with some handsome tourist she had met at a bar down at the piers, and suddenly new life was forming within her. She had been terrified, angry at herself, ashamed. What would her mother say? How would her father react? Always being the disappointing child had its advantages, she had tried to console herself, for they wouldn’t be surprised, only worried. And they already had such miserable lives, she didn’t want to add to that. (This was the part she omitted from the narration) 

Her brother, Shade, had been the first one she told the truth to, and he had done what he did best. He had supported her, cheered her up, made her feel like she wasn’t alone and he had made a ridiculous bet with her. If their parents took the news in stride like he said they would, she would have to name the child Shade, even if it turned out to be a girl. Mare had laughed it off. Her parents were nothing but supportive, even a little excited to be young grandparents, and life went on for almost nine months. 

That was until a drunk driver, some rich boy in a silver Lamborghini, crashed into Shade’s crappy car. Shade had been wearing a seatbelt, but the defective airbag didn’t open in time and he had hit his head and fell into a coma. Of all the dark moment’s in the Barrow’s lives, none came even close to how horrifying this one had felt. The doctors said the swelling in his brain was too much, that he wouldn’t make it. Each member of the family had spent hours next to his bed, talking to him, refusing to let him go, not daring to hope. An eerie sort of stasis like a kingdom cursed into an eternal winter. 

This is where little Shade’s favorite part started: During one of her visits, Mare had quietly begged her brother to wake up, promising she would do as they had jokingly bet all those months ago if he did. A few days after, she went into labor and a healthy baby boy named Shade Barrow brought some light back into the family. 

At this part, Ruth liked to tell her grandson Mare had taken him to see the sleeping uncle and as soon as he reached his chubby brown fist to grab the young man’s hand, he had opened his amber eyes, sleeping beauty style. Bree liked to tell his nephew Mare had made such a fuzz during labor, uncle Shade had woken up just to tell her to keep it down. The original Shade had his version as well; that they had met in the sky while he was ascending and that Saint Peter had said it would be a pity for such a cool kid to miss out on having such a cool uncle, and had sent their souls to earth together. 

The truth was a bit simpler, the medication and excellent doctors they got to pay with the rich guy’s payoff money so they wouldn’t take him to court (he happened to be from an important family or something) worked wonderfully and the swelling receded over a few weeks. So, Shade and Shade finally got to meet when one was 2 weeks old and the other was 19 years old. 

Things had gotten better from that point on. Mare had gotten into community college, then transferred to Harbor Bay Uni, worked her ass off until she graduated with honors with a degree in electronic engineering, and now she had a good position at the Albanus hydroelectric power plant. 

The fact that Shade had spent a good portion of his early life curled on his mother’s lap as she went from one class to another must be the reason he was such an introspective, well-behaved creature. Mare sometimes wondered how could a human that had literally come out of her be so different. But then again, she had had to buy a brass bell for the back porch to call him back home because he liked to venture into the woods all alone. That kid was as free as a bird, unable to refuse the call of the wild. _That_ , they had in common. It had been the reason she had decided to carry on with the pregnancy in the first place, that sense of wonder and adventure. And Shade was the spark that lit up her days, the best adventure of her life. 

One of Shade’s favorite spots had been in the empty lot across the street. There was a tall, regal sycamore tree with strong branches perfect for climbing and making swings. Mare could watch over him from the kitchen window, each year climbing a little higher as his limbs grew longer and more agile. Her heart painfully stopped every single time his foot had slipped (even if he was just a few feet over the ground) but went on beating as soon as Shade figured it out and kept climbing. Ruth had often disproved Mare’s ‘negligence’, but she had remained unfazed. It was a grandmother being overprotective, nothing else. 

And here, enter the house to the left at the end of Notch street. The enemy house. The asshole house. The super-expensive-cover-of-Architectural-Digest-model house. It had been built in exactly three months. Way too fast for Mare to get used to the idea of having a neighbor. Way too extravagant to ignore. It had a clean, boxy shape of concrete, glass, and just a touch of wood here and there to make it feel warm. Two stories high and a huge useless, anti-ecological perfectly trimmed lawn. And the poor sycamore tree, an unwilling participant in all of this bourgeoise buffoonery, was forever trapped in the enemy’s house backyard. 

The moment she had sat down her precious son to tell him why he couldn’t go across the street to play anymore and watched his thin shoulders drop and his eyes cloud with tears, that’s the second she had started hating the neighbor from across the street. With a passion. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t even moved in yet, it didn’t matter she had always known the lot was for sale, it didn’t matter they had sent a gift basket to apologize for the noise during the construction. None of it mattered. 

The only thing she knew about the owner was his name. Because for some bullshit reason there had been a mistake in the registry of his address that caused his mail to arrive at her house. It was the name of a pompous 60-year-old golfer with some blonde named Candy for third wife. So, she hated the name as well. _Tiberias Calore VII_. 

She _loathed_ him and no cookie-cutter white family that showed up could ever change her mind. 

☀️~☀️

Clara had come to visit. The kid might have been four (Four and a half, she liked to correct) but she had her father’s knack for causing mayhem. Appearing and disappearing at will, being in two places at once, all while keeping a stoic, innocent face that made you question if your mind wasn’t playing tricks on you. Her niece had superpowers. Mare couldn’t prove it, but she was sure of it. 

Shade and Farley had gone on a quick trip to New Town to get some furniture for their house. It was only a few hours away, but Clara got fuzzy in long car trips. So, they had left her with aunt Mare. 

Summers in Albanus, most commonly known as The Stilts, were suffocating, humid, uncaring spits to the face of humankind from an angry god. Maybe she was getting old, because she remembered a time when she could run as carelessly as the kids were doing now, without even thinking of the heat. 

She raised the glass of icy lemonade to her temple and pressed it against her skin. She was sitting on the steps of the back-porch wishing for the sweet release of death or for the kids to get tired of throwing buckets of water at each other and ask to go back inside. Whatever happened first. 

“Ok, hydration time!” She clapped her hands and rose to her feet. The back of her T-shirt was wet with sweat and jean shorts felt tacky against her sticky legs, _disgusting_. 

“Why are you angry, Mare?” 

She was pouring some lemonade in Clara’s glass when the girl spoke, looking up at her with a solemn expression. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You have this,” the girl pointed at a crease between furrowed brows. “Daddy says it means angry. He told me to not bother mom when she has this.” She pointed again. 

“Oh,” Mare chuckled and filled her son’s glass. “it also means someone isn’t feeling so well.” 

“Are you bored, mom?” Shade seemed offended. 

“No. It’s just too hot today.” 

“It’s hot because it’s summer. That’s the way weather works.” Since starting elementary school, Shade had learned to be a smartass and now he loved to sass her. She wasn’t a fan of it. 

“Well, then I guess summer isn’t for me.” 

Both kids gasped horrified. 

“Oh c’mon, it’s not like I said I hate summer.” Wrong thing to say. 

The kids shared a conspiratory glance. Clara declared fervently, “She likes school! Attack the enemy!” 

Oh no. They reached for their water guns as she ran into the backyard trying to get to the hose, have a chance to fight back, but the child soldiers were on her feet. They had aimed and they were loaded. 

“Fire!” Shouted her _own_ son and she felt the water streams in her back and her head. She tumbled and kneeled next to the hose and pressed the trigger aiming at them but it was in spray mode. They laughed and advanced steadily over the grass. By the time she managed to switch the mode, they were too close. “I’m sorry, mom.” Shade threw away his empty water gun and reached for a bucket. 

“Shade Barrow, I forbid you!” the water splash hit her straight in the face, the hose was ripped away from her fingers and suddenly she was on the ground; Shade and Clara aiming at her with a hose and a water gun without mercy or remorse. The pair of demons giggled with maniac glee until Mare crawled through the mud to tackle them in a bear hug. 

“No! Mom, you’re covered in dirt! Ew!” they took turns squirming and pleading and now Mare was the one laughing. 

“Surrender!” she growled making sure to tickle them, to destroy the adversaries’ last defenses. 

It worked; they weren’t resisting anymore when they managed a “we surrender!” between laughs. 

She let them go and sat down on the grass, in a better mood and not as uncomfortable now that she had taken a mud bath. Who needed a spa when you had two little rascals? God, she adored these kids. 

The doorbell rang inside the house. 

“That must be your parents,” Mare guessed. “You guys clean your faces a little, OK? You look like swamp monsters.” 

“Hey!” they protested. But she was climbing the porch steps, out of range from any retaliation. 

Mare crossed the house and checked her reflection on the hall mirror. A loud cackle left her lips, if the kids were the swamp monsters, she was the queen of the monsters. Her long braid was tangled with twigs and grass and her skin was painted with splotches of dark brown mud leaving very little of her face on sight. She should be in a natural science museum. 

Beyond the frosted glass squares of the door, she distinguished her brother’s figure. He looked a little different, though. Maybe the mud had gotten into her eyes. Without hesitation, she unlatched the door and threw it open. 

“You guys-” _are back sooner than I expected_. Is what she had meant to say. But that was definitely not her brother. Her heart stopped, she was kicked in the face and punched in the gut. 

She was staring into someone’s toned chest beneath a cotton shirt, tight at all the right places. Her eyes traveled up, up, up, up and holy shit what a tall man this was. Until her eyes landed on his face. His confusingly gorgeous face. His shocked gaping face. 

The stranger regained his composure and plastered on a friendly smile, so bright she felt the need to shield her eyes. “Hi! Sorry to bother. I just wanted to introduce myself.” His voice was a chilled beer bottle being opened, the ding of a right answer on a trivia show, the rumble of a brand-new car’s engine, and every other perfect sound in the world combined into a single masculine velvety sound. 

Shit, should she say something? 

“Hi.” She croaked, inwardly flinching. 

“I’m Cal.” He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the enemy house. “I’m your new neighbor.” 


	2. A tall glass of water

_Your new neighbor_. Maybe he was mister Tiberias’ son. 

Well, Tiberias might have been a creepy old man (in her imagination, he sported an orange spray tan and winked at waitresses) but his son... his son was genetically modified to perfection. His chiseled jawline was straight out of a trashy romance novel cover. Ivory skin blushed at the cheeks because of the heat, silky strands of black hair stuck to his brow, perfect thick eyebrows over a pair eyes like a forest fire; golden and bronze, and making her skin burn all over again. 

There may have been a chance she was having heat stroke hallucinations. 

“I- I am Mare. I live here,” she said dumbly. 

“Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand and Mare just stared at it. 

“You don’t want to do that.” She waved her filthy hands to show him what she meant. 

“Right, right.” He cleared his throat, lowering his eyes a second. “I trust you got my gift basket, yes? I hope the construction wasn’t too much of a nuisance.” 

My gift basket? That would mean... 

“ _You_ are Tiberias.” Her tone was almost accusing. The electricity that had been building inside of her started to fail like a lantern with old batteries. Leaving only the animosity she felt towards the person that now had a face (and what a face it was). 

“Well, yes. But my friends call me Cal, as I mentioned.” He insisted. “I would introduce you to my daughter if I could find her.” He glanced back at his house as if trying to spot the child. At the mention of a kid, her eyes shot to his hands, searching for a wedding band. No ring was on sight, but that didn’t mean anything. And she _didn’t care_ whether he was married or not. “She’s running about the place. The realtor mentioned there were kids in the area.” 

“Yes,” she interrupted the mental catalog of the reasons this _Tiberias_ was still a bad person, even if he was hot. “My son just turned 7 and the Marsten girls are about the same age,” she said coldly. 

“Coriane turns 6 in a few weeks!” He seemed excited at the irrelevant coincidence. “I’m sure they’ll be great friends.” 

“Mhmm.” Mare looked away, already done with this conversation. Her eyes landed on the pile of mail on top of the little table next to the door. She reached for it, not caring that she was printing her muddy fingers on the envelopes and handed them to him. “You have an address issue, Tiberias.” 

He knit his brows and shuffled through the mail. “Oh, we have the same address,” he realized sheepishly like it was something funny. Mare’s annoyance increased. 

“Please see that it gets solved. Welcome to the neighborhood.” She shut the door on his face. 

~🥤~ 

It didn’t take long for her other new neighbor to make an appearance. The day after her first encounter, Mare was kneeling on the ground, pulling weeds from her garden when a short shadow dropped over the geraniums. She lifted her face from under the straw hat and a girl with dirty blond hair that framed a chubby face was smiling at her with a missing tooth. Her eyes were like her father’s in color but nothing else; a stunning bronze gold gaze that sparkled with mischievous energy. 

“Hello, I’m Cori. My dad says you’re Mare, and that you have a son, and that you look interesting.” She spoke fast and bubbly. “He said that when I asked if you were nice or pretty. You can’t be both nice _and_ pretty, you know? That’s what aunt Eve says. And you’re very pretty but I don’t think you look interesting.” 

“Uh... sorry about that.” Mare was still trying to process all the new information. The child was wearing a white sundress smeared with grass and dirt, her knees were scratched and her hands were also dirty. She recognized a fellow feral creature when she saw one and Cori was definitely one— what did she mean Tiberias had called her _interesting-looking?_

“S’ok. What are you doing?” She crouched next to her. Her puzzled face staring intently. 

“I’m pulling weeds. They are the bad plants that steal the nutrients from the good plants. See?” She pointed at one and pulled it from the root. 

“How do you know which ones are bad?” Sometimes kids asked things for the sake of asking, but Cori seemed actually interested. “You have all the plants in the _world_ in your house.” She widened her eyes as she looked around impressed. 

Mare let out a laugh. Ok, so maybe Tiberias sucked. Didn’t mean the child was terrible as well. 

“It’s easy. These have spines and pointy leaves. Like this. And you compare it with the good ones.” She held a weed leaf and a mint to show her the difference. “You didn’t have many plants at your old house?” 

“There were lots in the parks in Archeon and we have plants _now_.” She heaved a dramatic sigh. “But there were no plants in the building and the security guard never let me do _anything_.” 

The slight accent became noticeable at that moment. Moving all the way from the capital was a huge change. Mare had been there once for a work trip and she had hated the city. Big, loud, fast, and cold in every sense of the word. 

“We have no nasty security guards here.” 

“I know! And this house is a trillion times bigger and better. Can I help you with your weeds?” 

Eh, why not. “Sure. Put this on.” She took off one of her gardening gloves and gave it to Cori. They worked around the garden for a couple of minutes. Mare had thought it would take around 2 minutes for the girl to get bored and go away, but she didn’t. She asked a thousand questions and did quite an efficient job with the plants, while Mare did her best to answer. She avoided using the patronizing baby speech a lot of adults used with children, she didn’t have the patience or the ability, so she just spoke as if she were talking to another adult. 

“What is this?” 

“That’s mint. You can make tea with it.” 

“Cool! And that?” 

“Hydrangeas. They absorb the spiritual energy from the house.” Her mom used to say that. 

“They look beautiful to me. That means you have beautiful energy?” 

“Yes, it does.” 

“How do you create beautiful energy?” Cori approached her to ask. 

Truth is she wasn’t all that into the spiritual aspect of gardening like her mom or Tramy, so she had no idea what to say. 

“Well... If the people who live in the house are happy, that helps. My son creates all the energy here,” she said smiling to herself. “The flowers are beautiful thanks to him.” 

“Where is he?” 

“He went to the river with his uncle. You’ll meet him when he gets here, his name is Shade.” Now she did want the kids to meet. Cori was delightful. 

“And where is your husband or wife?” she cocked her head to the side, inspecting her with renovated interest. 

“I’m not married,” she explained kindly. “It’s just me and Shade.” 

“Like me and dad!” Cori beamed. “Do you want to be his girlfriend?” 

Mare’s smile froze in place. Not so delightful after all. “I don’t.” She said keeping her tone friendly. She rose to her feet and started to look for something to distract her with. 

“Why not? He is the handsomest man on the planet.” Cori spoke seriously. This seemed a crucial subject to her. “Do you like girls? It’s ok if you do. My aunt is like that.” 

“No, it’s not that. Not at all.” She lifted her palms in the air, placating. 

“So you think he is ugly?” She rose her tone at the last word, seemed offended at the idea. 

Mare didn’t feel like antagonizing the girl and talking about the guy was going to ruin her mood. She took off her straw hat and started fanning herself with it. “No! I didn’t say that. Your dad is handsome, you’re right, but-” 

Speaking of the devil, Tiberias himself popped up out of his house and did a little jog across his perfect yard and across the street. He was securing a tie around the collar of his white dress shirt, the luxurious fabric stretching over his biceps, and the muscles of his forearms. 

“Cori!” He sounded worried. He stood at the fence, placing his hands at his hips, looking at his child with a frown. “Cori,” He sighed disapproving. “Look at you. We have to leave in no time and now you have to change your dress _again_.” 

Mare bit her cheek to keep from grinning. She had unknowingly contributed to the girl’s rebellion. 

“Ugh, fine.” She stomped her sparkly sandal. “But I’m having an important conversation with Mare and you’re interrupting.” 

_No, shut up kid. Go with your dad_. Only then, he looked at her and the worried lines disappeared from his face, replaced by a gallant smile. Mare fanned herself a little faster. 

“Hi, Mare. Sorry about this.” 

“Tiberias.” She nodded, swallowing, and looking away. She shoved her gloved hand in the overall pocket. 

Cori went to her father and grabbed his hand, but she didn’t budge when he tried to pull her away. “Mare was about to tell me why she doesn’t want to be your girlfriend even if she does think you are the handsomest man on the planet.” 

Their eyes shot to each other. Mare had her eyes open like saucers, her cheeks flushed pink, her heart did an unwelcome flip. Tiberias’ face was a mirror of hers. _Damn children_ , good to be reminded of why she didn’t like them. 

A decent man would have laughed it off and dragged the kid away. A decent man would have chastised his daughter for making shit up. What did Tiberias do, then? He proved once again why he was the absolute worst. His gallant smile turned into a smirk as he lifted a single eyebrow, amused, watching her crush the straw hat in her hand. “That’s very nice of you to say, thank you.” 

Hot blood rushed to her face. She would not back away from the challenge. “It’s no problem,” she smiled sweetly. “I tend to recognize men that need expensive houses, flashy cars, and lots of compliments to compensate.” 

That wiped the smirk from his face. A tally mark was drawn on her side of the scoreboard. 

“Have fun at your event, Cori.” 

“Goodbye, Mare.” The girl waved sadly as Tiberias started to back away. “Can I visit you again?” 

“Anytime.” And she did really mean that... as long as she didn’t bring her father along. 

~🥤~ 

A big useless lawn that was a dent in a fragile ecosystem? Check. Flashy Jeep that burned way too much fuel and polluted the air? Check. Annoying hammering and drilling noises at random times throughout the day? Check. Insufferable charming grin from a toothpaste commercial and polite greeting every time they ran into each other to which she answered with a dry ‘Tiberias’? Check, check, and check. 

He was actively looking for ways to pester her. She knew that. When they had run into each other at the supermarket she had made a snide comment about all the processed trash he was feeding Cori. Instead of riling him up as intended, he had thought about it for a second before agreeing with her. The Saturday after that, he had followed her to the farmer’s market down at the piers like a creepy stalker. It didn’t matter that he had been there first because she knew he was doing it on purpose. 

The Tiberias infestation. He kept showing up at random locations, dragging Cori along with him like a ‘Father of the year’ Hallmark card. Making every straight woman in a 50-mile radius have an estrogen-induced meltdown over his sharp, strong features, his manly broad back, the bronze eyes, and the olden days’ chivalry he made a point to show off. 

Opening doors, helping old ladies cross the street, carrying shopping bags. Mare did all those things as well and she didn’t get any awards. Why should he? She wanted to expose the charade. See how much of a gentleman was left in him if she ripped off the dress shirts he liked to wear so much, and dug her nails in his skin, and bit the soft flesh in his long neck as she— ok, wow, she definitely didn’t want to do _any_ of that. 

At the moment, she was enjoying her Sunday meal in the backyard with her family. Almost everybody was here; her parents, Shade and Farley, Bree and Ann, Gisa and Lucy. Only Tramy was missing, at his girlfriend’s house. In a table filled with couples, her spinsterhood became a neon sign hanging over her head. There was something odd about today. Something that made her uncomfortably aware of that usually irrelevant relationship status. 

“Did you fill the form for Saint Victoria?” Ruth asked for the tenth time in the summer. “You know how fast the spots filled last year when I told you-” 

“Yes, mom. I filled the form in June. If everything works out, I should get an interview next week.” 

Saint Victoria Academy was the best school in Albanus, and there was nothing she wanted more for her son to have every advantage she had lacked when she was his age. The acceptance rate was low, but Shade had been an A+ student last year, so that should make things easier. She didn’t want to let on how nerve-wracking it was to wait for the call for the interview or the rejection letter every day. Shade deserved that education. 

The long table was set under the shadow of the lemon trees. The checkered tablecloth swayed as the late noon breeze dissipated some of the heat from the people talking, drinking cold beers and lemonades. 

The children were running around, as always, pretending they were the X-men. Shade, Clara, Coriane, and Marcos, Bree’s two-year-old boy. From time to time Ann had to intervene to keep them from turning the youngest into a human football. 

“What a cute girl,” Gisa commented looking at Cori, who was pretending to be Storm. “You’ll think I’m crazy but she reminds me of you.” 

“Of me?!” Mare laughed. 

Cori extended her arms and shouted ‘lightning!’ while aiming at Clara, who leaped aside. 

“It must be because she spends more time here than in her own house.” She reasoned. Tiberias had repeatedly tried to discourage her visits (probably thinking of her as a bad influence for his precious child) but Mare had won in the end, making sure Cori knew she was always welcome here. 

“And her parents let her?” Ruth asked with barely concealed disapproval. 

“It’s summer,” she shrugged. “It’s not like she’s in the military, and her father can’t force her to have fun in that big empty house.” 

“So he’s divorced?” Ruth leaned in; her match-maker radar finely attuned. “That’s interesting. What is he like?” 

A rush of blood threatened to color her cheeks. What the hell? It was a simple question with a simple answer. Luckily Daniel barked a laugh and nudged his wife’s side with his elbow. 

“Jesus Christ woman. She’s old enough to decide if she wants a fellow or not.” 

“Yeah, and she’s smart enough to remain single.” Bree murmured. Ann slapped his arm as Gisa and her girlfriend threw napkins at him and booed. 

“That’s something that can be easily solved,” Ann threatened, and a fresh wave of laughter spread through the table. 

“I don’t know about the being single part, but you’ve turned into an impressive woman with how much you’ve accomplished,” Farley spoke, and everyone listened. “All without submitting to sexist notions of romance and relationships. I think that’s pretty cool.” She finished with a nonchalant lift of her shoulder. 

Everyone was looking at her with something like admiration; except for Ruth, who seemed disappointed with her frustrated attempt. Mare’s stomach turned with nausea as she rose from the table and excused herself to go wash the dishes. Anything to escape the guilt she felt for lying to her family. Well, more than a lie it was a deception. Because they saw her as this strong, untouchable modern woman where all she saw was a struggling lonely creature. Not because she was truly alone, but because she _did_ yearn for a partnership like her parent’s or literally any of her sibling's relationships. 

Someone to help her walk through life just by being there. She had given up on it though. Men were mostly disappointing and she had no desire to waste her time looking for one. What was that Marilyn Monroe quote? A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. Needing and wanting were two very different things. 

The dirty plates clanked on the sink as she sighed and turned on the faucet. 

The kitchen was to the left of the front door, an open space to the rest of the house with a small island in the middle and the counter on the wall facing the front. The cabinetry was painted a soothing moss green color. The open window over the sink, the same one she had used to watch over Shade playing on the sycamore tree, now allowed her to glare at the modern monstrosity that was Tiberias’ house. 

Tiberias showed up from the side of the house, whistling a tune as he pushed a loud lawnmower in front of him. He must have been working in the backyard because his dark hair and cotton t-shirt clung to his wet skin. 

Mare started angrily scrubbing the dishes as she stared at him, wishing all sorts of unkind things. 

There he was, earbuds on, singing off-key to _American woman_ , murdering the grass. _The asshole_. His sun-kissed skin was glistening with sweat. A drop of sweat traveled down his brow and he lifted his shirt to wipe his face, revealing the hard lines of abs carved by the gods beneath it. 

Mare propped her elbows over the counter, the plate and sponge in her hand completely still as her mouth went dry. 

Tiberias pushed the lawnmower a few feet before a song he liked started playing (at least that’s what it seemed) when he started bouncing his head to the rhythm. Thunderstruck, by AC/DC, she realized when he started to sing it. His inky black hair whipped in the air and drops of the moisture caught the evening sun like he had been sprinkled with gold. He stopped for a second time to take off his shirt in a swift motion and wipe his brow again. A hungry hot wave of something curled at the bottom of her stomach. Air caught in her throat. What the fuck- what the- _Look away, for the love of God, look away_. But her body was stuck into place as she devoured him with her eyes. 

Half-naked, indecent, he threw the piece of clothing aside. Hard, toned muscles and smooth glistening skin. How was it possible he looked bigger now? His skin, oh god. She wanted to- She bit her lip. Was he wearing sunscreen? Maybe she should be a good neighbor after all and walk over there with the sunscreen bottle. Offer him to smear the cream on the places he couldn’t reach. Like his back for example. 

“Mom! Stop wasting water!” Shade was looking at her from the front door he had just thrown open. And it was still open. And Tiberias music must have stopped at that exact moment because, drawn by the sound, his bronze gaze found hers in a horrifying second. 

Mare’s fight or flight response kicked in with violence and she dove to the floor like a soldier under attack. _Shit shit shit_. 

“Mommy, what are you doing?” Shade tilted his head as he cocked an eyebrow. 

The. Door. Was. Still. Open. Tiberias could be listening to everything. 

“Close the door,” she whispered. Her face burning as if she had stuck it in a boiling pot. “I’m looking for a spoon I dropped.” 

“I can help.” He finally closed the front door and went over to the kitchen. Her innocent boy kneeled next to her and started inspecting the floor. 

“What are you guys doing?” Gisa entered the kitchen carrying more plates and maneuvered her way around them. “Why did you leave the water running?” 

“Mom dropped a spoon,” Shade explained as he pressed his cheek to the floor to get a better view. 

“She-” She then must have seen the view beyond the window, because she stared for a minute before smugly lowering her eyes to her older sister. “Oh, Mare, how clumsy you’ve become all of the sudden.” 

Mare played dumb with an _‘I have no idea what you’re talking about’_ expression and crawled on her hands and knees to the other side of the island. 

Just then, Lucy and Farley showed up. 

“What are you looking at, honey?” 

“I was about to ask that. You look like you heard an excellent joke.” Farley chuckled. 

“Mare’s new neighbor. You guys need to see this.” She sounded like she was holding back a laugh. 

She was going to _kill_ Gisa. 

“What do you- oh,” Farley supplied. 

“Hey, I want to see!” Lucy joined the other two. “Ah.” She nodded in understanding. 

This is it. She had died and now she was being tortured in hell. 

“Damn, sis. That new guy across the street is hot.” _Shade too?!_ Her brother had just joined the window crowd. Mare hadn’t seen him enter because she had been too busy burying her face in her palms, back pressed against the wall. This was too much. 

She jumped to her feet with the fire of her burning embarrassment turned into exasperation. “Ok, people. Show’s over. Why don’t we go back to the backyard so we can have dessert?” 

“I kind of want to meet that guy. He looks like a chill dude,” Shade said just to mess with her. 

“He looks like a douche,” Farley muttered, and Mare wanted to kiss her. 

“Exactly! He is a douchebag. Now please let’s go before mom-” 

Everything turned to slow motion as Ruth Barrow showed up and asked what was taking them so long. Mare wanted to jump in front of her mother to shield the view from the window, but the little crowd had parted and her head was turning in that direction. And her mother saw the cause of the commotion. 

_NO._

Not even the Flash himself could’ve stopped Ruth from walking over to the window and shouting. “Hi!” She waved her hand with a pleasant old lady smile. “We’re Mare’s family! Would you like some dessert?” 

_Say no, say no, say no._

“Sure! That sounds great!” 

_Oh, come on._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it, and if you did, feel free to leave a comment!


	3. A tall glass of water (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out way too long so I chopped it in half. Hopefully, you'll like this short one.

“Mom!” 

“What?” Ruth turned, raising her eyebrows innocently. 

“You can’t just invite strangers into my house!” 

“Mare Molly Barrow.” She placed her fists on her hips. “I thought I had taught you manners. Look at that poor single father, wasting away under the sun.” 

Shade, the original one, covered his mouth and faked a cough to hide his cackle. Mare glared at him. 

She could not let her mother interact with Tiberias. Only God knew what she was capable of. 

“I- But-” She stammered, looking for a way out. “He is busy.” She came up with a strategy and she had to put it in motion before Ruth made her next move. 

Practically shoving her mother away from the window, she waved at Tiberias, who was starting to walk over to her house. “Hey! Stay there!” Her tone was harsh and she felt her mom about to reprimand her again, so she turned it into a sweet chirpy tone that was completely out character. “You’re busy and we don’t want to intrude. I’ll take a plate over to you.” 

He stopped in place, nodding hesitantly. 

Mare felt a vein was about to pop on her neck as she slowly turned around and half a dozen of eyes were staring at her like they were watching the penalties of the FIFA world cup. _Want some popcorn as well?_ She wanted to bark but she kept her cool and served a plate of apple pie with ice cream. 

“I can take the pie to Cal,” little Shade offered giving up on finding the non-existent missing spoon. 

Hope lit up her features. 

“Actually, your _abuelito_ needed your help, sweetheart. Go!” Ruth patted Shade’s curly head affectionately. 

Hope screeched and crashed against a wall, exploding into flaming irritation. Her son obediently ran to the back of the house. 

“How convenient, mother.” Mare squinted her eyes at the woman. 

Her mother ignored her and poured a tall glass of cold water. “Here, give the poor man something to drink.” 

Plate and glass, one in each hand, she made her way through the garden and across the street like a prisoner approaching the firing squad. Tiberias had had the decency of putting on his shirt and beamed at her with crinkled eyes because of the sun. 

Her insides churned with opposing emotions, ranging from anger because she was being forced to interact with him, deep embarrassment and awkwardness triggered by the eyes of half of her family burning at the back of her neck, and another set of feelings she refused to name or even acknowledge as she looked at her neighbor. 

“I could’ve gone over. It really was no problem.” He said once she was a few feet away, combing back his luscious hair with his fingers. 

_Jesus f-ing Christ._ Mare felt her entire body hum like a beehive and she couldn’t even let her mind go where it wanted because she was being watched by the worst crowd in the universe. Also, she didn’t want her mind to go to _those_ places. 

“I didn’t want to interrupt your... activities,” she looked at the lawn with disdain, a good excuse to avoid letting her eyes linger too much on any part of his anatomy. 

“Thank you!” He took the plate and spoon from her and smiled like a kid. “Vanilla ice cream is my weakness.” He took a spoonful of pie and ice-cream and shoved it into his mouth. 

“The pie is delicious. Did you make it?” How he managed to speak while eating without being disgusting, was beyond her. 

“I had no choice but to learn. It’s Shade’s favorite.” Was she really going to do this? Make small talk like he was a regular person and not her mortal enemy? 

“He’s lucky. And your family seems great.” 

No, they weren’t. If they were, they wouldn’t be torturing her like this. “They are very friendly,” she forced herself to say. “My mom took pity on your soul, working in the heat and all that.” 

He dug into the pie again and didn’t look at her as he said. “And you? You seemed interested in my landscaping.” _Busted_. He took another bite and looked straight into her eyes as he selflessly offered. “I can give you some tips if you want.” 

Never in her life had Mare wished more than then to be struck by a meteor. 

“More like watching you destroy the ecosystem.” She fired back quickly. Pride was the last thing she was willing to lose. “Did you know lawns like these disrupt the normal flora of the area, fill the soil with harmful chemicals, and impede the bees from pollinating? Amongst a dozen other negative effects.” She had to take a gulp of air after blurting out her rant. “Not that you care.” 

_Nice save_. Mare patted herself on the back. 

Tiberias opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. Finally, he shook his head and let out a short laugh. “I had no idea. And I didn’t know the bees were such a sensitive subject for you, miss Barrow.” His unconcerned expression, almost mocking, let her know immediately that he had seen through her lame attempt of self-defense. Well, too bad. Cause she wasn’t about to admit she had been gawking at him. 

“They’re important for the planet, Tiberias. And, of course you wouldn’t know what I care about.” If she hadn’t been holding the glass of water, she would’ve crossed her arms. “You don’t know the first thing about me.” 

“That’s where you’re wrong. I know many things about you,” he pointed at her head with the spoon, took another bite. 

Annoyance flared up inside of her but then she realized: Cori. 

Cori, who had spent hours inside of her house, could’ve said things to her father. Another thought occurred to her. _Had he been asking about her?_

“Maybe Cori told me things about you as well.” _Checkmate, bitch_. 

He took the last bite of the pie and looked into the horizon, nodding his head with a smug smile. Taking his sweet time before swallowing and asking- no, _affirming_. “That means you’ve asked her about me.” 

Motherf— He had beat her to the punch with the question! So what if she had asked about him? About the fact that he was a divorced 27-year-old, that had recently opened up his own business in a town far away from his family’s center of power to gain some independence? So what if she had figured all of that out from the snippets of information Coriane had fed her? So what if she spent more time than she was willing to admit trying to piece a picture of who her new neighbor was? That was none of his business. _Oh, what a punchable face he had._

“She is a talkative kid.” She lifted her chin, batted away her long brown hair from her shoulder. “Did _you_ ask her about me?” 

“Yes,” his voice went soft, unexpectedly sincere. It caught her off guard. “I did. I needed to know who was she spending her time with. She adores you. I’m glad she met someone like you and Shade.” 

Mare was speechless, sinking into his golden eyes like quicksand. “I... I thought you didn’t like her being with us,” she inspected his expression. “That you thought we were going to- I don’t know -be bad for her, I guess.” 

Tiberias chuckled and shook his head. “Coriane can’t be swayed in her opinions by a hurricane. I didn’t want her to spending time with you because I thought it would annoy you.” 

“That’s ridiculous!” 

“You haven’t really shown me any other mood. Sorry for assuming it was the default.” 

She scoffed, even though he was right. It made sense to try to keep your child from spending time with someone who looked two seconds away from clawing your eyes out. 

“Just because I have my reservations about you doesn’t mean I’ll hold it against your daughter.” The smallest of concessions, she could give him that. “Cori is amazing. She’s bright, funny, kind. I could never get tired of having her around.” She was surprised by how much she meant that, how easy it was to say. In just a few weeks, the little girl had grown roots into her heart. 

Tiberias looked at her with a slight smile playing at the edge of his lips. The flow of time seemed to turn into a slow stream of thick honey as they stood in the middle of the lawn Mare hated so much, a breeze carried the song of cicadas and the scent from the woods surrounding them. 

“Thank you.” Tiberias murmured. “And your family isn’t looking anymore.” He pointed with his chin to her back. 

“What?” She struggled to return to the normal plane of existence. She turned to look at her house and saw the empty kitchen. 

“They’ve been gone for a while, actually. You don’t have to keep acting friendly.” Back to the smug tone, he handed the empty plate back to her. 

“I don’t?” she smirked, devilish, as she extended the glass of water to him, but just before he grabbed it, she took a step back and slowly poured the water to the grass without taking her eyes off his. “It wounds me you would think I’m acting.” 

Tiberias’ grin extended over his features until he let out a laugh that echoed against her bones. “Thanks for the pie.” 

“Sure. Feel free to keep murdering the ecosystem now.” With that, she pivoted on her heels and walked off feeling some weird sense of victory. 

He stopped laughing long enough to raise his voice before she could enter her house. “I will think about what you said, and feel free to keep watching from the kitchen.” 

Mare flinched as she closed the door behind her. _Point for Tiberias_. 

She heaved a deep sigh, walked over to the window and slammed it shut, drawing the curtains. She willed her heart to calm the fuck down, it had no business beating as fast as it was. 

~🥤~ 

There was a letter in her mailbox and this time it really was for her. A sharp anxious edge dug at her stomach as she balanced the groceries in her arms and Shade hurried to open the door. He was telling her about the life of Emperor Justinian, blessedly unaware of the fact that the future of his education was encased in a piece of paper. 

“...and his wife, Theodora, remember? She told them to shove it, that they were a bunch of cowards and made sure to protect Justinian’s crown. She was so cool.” 

Once inside they placed the bags on the counter. Mare bit her thumb, staring at the envelope with the Saint Victoria crest printed in a corner like it was filled with anthrax. 

“And Justinian listened to her and the chopped the head off that other guy who wanted to take over.” He made a gesture with his hand as if cutting his neck in a very graphic way, making choking sounds and rolling his head back. 

That distracted her enough to tear her eyes from the envelope. What kind of books was he borrowing from Ada? 

“Jesus Christ, Shade. Aren’t those stories a bit mature for you to be reading?” 

“It’s world history, mom.” He rolled his eyes and started putting away the groceries. “And I didn’t read it. Cal told me. He knows all about war, and strategies, and generals, and emperors!” He was bouncing with excited energy. 

Mare’s eye twitched. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. When she was away at work Shade stayed over at Nani’s house. Apparently, he had been spending his mornings someplace else. There was no other moment he could’ve done it. 

“I don’t remember giving you permission to go to his house.” 

Shade frowned at her, confused. “Cori is here all the time. I thought it was ok.” 

He wasn’t wrong. Begrudgingly, she let the subject go. “It is. Just, please tell me where you spend your time. I need to know that sort of stuff.” 

“Yes, mom.” He smiled at her and her anger ebbed away. 

Feeling slightly better, and before her anxiety could kick back in, she ripped the envelope open and started reading. She was so focused on it; she didn’t hear Shade speaking. 

“He asks me about you. Weird stuff like what do you like, or if you’re watching a show.” 

“YES!” She ran up to Shade and lifted him over one shoulder and spun him around, then deposited him on the ground and kissed both of his cheeks. “We got the interview, honey.” She tried her hardest to keep her excitement in check because he hadn’t been accepted yet, _technically_. But everybody knew the interview was just a formality. She grinned despite herself. 

“I’m switching schools then?” He lowered his head; soft brown curls hid his eyes but his tone was resigned. 

“Hey,” she tilted his chin up and reassured him. “I know change can be a little scary but this is a good thing.” 

“I hate it,” he pouted. 

“It’s normal to have negative feelings toward things we don’t know. Once you know Saint Victoria better, you’ll love it. And after a while, if you really do hate it, I promise I’ll let you go back to your old school.” She wouldn’t force her son to endure a toxic environment just because she thought it best. Still, she had a hunch he would fall in love with it. “Deal?” 

“Deal,” he smiled, a bit unsure, and Mare crushed him into her with a bear hug. She breathed in the familiar, soothing peppermint scent of his unruly hair. As long as they stuck together, everything would be fine. 

~🥤~ 

There had been a particular piece of conversation Mare had had with her family the previous day, right after she’d returned to the table in the backyard, that she had been trying to erase from her mind. 

The conversation had stopped abruptly after she had shown up. A set of seven varieties of nosy faces trying to look casual. Only Farley seemed uninterested in whatever had transpired after they had left the kitchen. 

“Did he... did he like the pie?” Gisa asked, prompted by a pointed look from their mother. 

“Yup.” Mare plopped down on the chair and started eating her pie, fully intending to ignore that nonsense. 

“And?” Ruth insisted. 

“And nothing! What were you expecting, mother? Did you want him to propose because he liked my culinary skills? We’re not in the fifties.” 

The family erupted in _I-told-you-so´s_ and disappointed expressions. Her favorite brother looked straight at her, skepticism sparking his amber eyes. “What a pity.” Shade tsk-tsked. He was kind enough to keep his voice down so only she would hear. “He looked like he had won the lottery when you walked through that door.” 

“Ice cream and water on a hot day, _gee wonder why that was_.” She brushed it off, schooled her face into something neutral even though her lips were dangerously curving upwards. 

“Mmhmm.” 

Shade may have chosen to keep his opinion to himself as he took a sip of beer, but his eyes said everything. 

_‘You’re in deep trouble.’_

Or maybe that was her own brain speaking to her. 


	4. When life gives you lemons

A day later, her brother’s words kept climbing to the forefront of her consciousness and Mare kept kicking them back, trying to not let them get to her. She failed. 

When she decided to wash the car, it was because it seemed important to project an impeccable image for the Academy tomorrow. When she chose for the task a ratty tank top and a pair of frayed jean shorts she hadn’t worn in ages for they were scandalously short, she had told herself she was doing it as not to ruin her decent pieces of clothing. _No other reason_.

The garage, if one could call a plain roof with a driveway a garage, was to the side of the house, detached from it. She backed the Prius into the driveway and proceeded to spray it with the hose. 

She kept glancing at the house across the street, waiting for who knew what. Every time she did, she would set her jaw and reprimand herself as if that could deny what a part of herself already knew. What Shade had said had stuck to her head like a chewed gum and made her react stupidly. 

Eye for an eye. If Shade had been right this would be the perfect revenge for Tiberias’ silent victory when he had caught her staring. But if he had been wrong, like she was beginning to suspect, then it just made things unbearably awkward. 

By the time she got to the foaming part of the process, she was convinced of two things: First, she should be awarded the _‘Clown of the year’_ award, since she had just turned herself into a joke. Even if no one ever knew, _she knew_ , and that was embarrassing enough. Second, she really should’ve bought the slightly more expensive brush, the one that came with an extendable handle, because she could not reach the goddamn center of the roof of the car. She got on her tiptoes, pressing her entire body to the side of the car, reaching as far as her 5’3 would allow. 

Scrunching her face with the effort, she jumped a few times. At least the windows would appreciate her boobs being used as a cleaning supply. 

“Foam! Yay!” Cori’s voice startled her. 

Mare jumped away from the car. Cori was there, holding her dad’s hand, dragging him forward. 

“Hi Cori,” Mare smiled dropping the brush and trying to shake off some of the foam from her hands. “Are you looking for Shade?” She tried to look at Tiberias out of the corner of her eye. She felt an army of goosebumps climb down her skin. He was looking at her. 

“Not at the moment. Daddy is making lemonade for me and I told him you have the best lemons in your backyard. Come on,” she tugged at his arm, “ask her.” 

Slowly, anticipating her victory, she lifted her eyes l to him. 

It was so much better than she had imagined. 

Once, back when she was in college, a barista at her favorite coffee shop had called her a rotten flirt after she had talked him into giving her free coffee for an entire semester. Right now, looking at Tiberias, she was sure she could get a little more than that. 

His angular jaw was firmly pressed, his free hand clenched into a fist as he stood there stiff as a board, staring at her with dark eyes. 

Mare smiled at him like an angel. “Yes?” 

He spoke like his brain had been submerged in gelatin, slow and clumsy. “Cori mentioned how nice your lemons were- your lemon trees. Would you mind...?” He made a gesture with his hand as if to fill the words that came next. 

This was fantastic. It was taking everything in her not to laugh. 

“Grab as many as you want, Cori. There’s a basket in the back porch.” 

Cori thanked her and took off running. Her detestable father just stood there, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“You shouldn’t wash your car under the sun.” His voice was lower than usual. He cleared his throat. “It leaves streaks.” 

She shortened the distance between them, lifting her arms over her head to secure her high ponytail, knowing full well the image she was creating. The tank top lifted displaying even more skin. Whatever parts of her that weren’t covered with foam, were barely covered by wet fabric that clung to her every curve and left little to the imagination. 

Tiberias quickly looked away, but not quickly enough. His eyes had traveled down her body with an unmistakable hunger behind them. Her blood’s temperature rose like a fever. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She wouldn’t. She was so focused on reading his body language, his words had barely registered. “It was a good idea to make lemonade. It’s the perfect day for that.” She crossed her arms under her bust, making her cleavage stand out. 

Ever the gentleman, he wasn’t going to speak without looking at her. He locked his eyes to hers with such intensity, Mare knew in her gut he was forcing his gaze not to drop South. 

“Yeah, I’m thirsty.” He rushed to correct himself. “I mean we are. Me and Coriane, my daughter.” 

What could be funnier than watching a grown man squirm under her gaze? Nothing. 

“Tiberias, are you ok? You look a bit heated. Must’ve been all that time you spent under the sun yesterday.” 

“Why do you keep calling me that?” He furrowed his brow. 

“You mean your name?” 

“I told you I prefer Cal.” 

“Thanks for the suggestion but I’m sticking with Tiberias.” 

His eyes darkened further and he took a step forward. “Don’t call me that.” 

Heat curled inside of her; she felt a little breathless. Play with fire, get burned. And she wanted nothing more than to pour some gasoline. 

“Or what, _Tiberias_?” 

Was that a growl she heard deep down his throat? He pressed forward like a predator about to… about to what? Tiberias seemed to be struck by that same thought because he stopped abruptly at arm’s length. 

“I have sooo many lemons!” Cori skipped over to them, full basket in hand, and that was the perfect moment for Tiberias to back away with long strides. “Thank you, Mare.” The girl gave her a quick hug around her middle, without caring she was getting wet in the process. 

Like the last time she had been around him, she had to force herself to think straight. She hoped this wasn’t going to be a recurring theme. 

“No problem.” She petted Cori’s blond hair. “Enjoy your lemonade.” 

“It’s our celebration drink,” Tiberias explained at a safe distance. “If everything works out, tomorrow Coriane will officially be a first-grade student.” 

“That’s great news.” 

“It’s news.” Cori contradicted her, making her laugh. Then she ran back to her father. 

Mare went back to the car, but something prickled at the side of her neck. She turned into Tiberias’ direction only to find him glancing back at her. He averted his eyes straight ahead, probably embarrassed he had been caught. Mare smirked and drew a second mark on her side of the scoreboard. 

~🍋~

On one hand, she had taken her revenge by putting him in the same awkward position she had been the day before. On the other, however, she hadn’t considered the implications of making a big deal out of a little of naked skin, a little ogling, and a sprinkle of... _flirting_? No, absolutely not. She hadn’t been flirting. She had been making him taste his own medicine. But apparently, her dumbass hormones didn’t know the difference between an insufferable neighbor and a _romantic_ prospect. Though there had been nothing romantic about the dream she had that night. 

In her dream, everything had started the same way. She was washing the car, waiting for him to come out, and thinking of what a despicable person he was. Then, the dream changed. He came out of his house and charged right up to her driveway, discarding his shirt in slow motion like a Baywatch montage in the process. 

She didn’t question the absurdity for a second. Her mind was too busy processing the hard lines of his body. 

Her heart took a deep dive and landed into a pool of hot liquid at the bottom of her belly. Suddenly she was pressed against the hood of the car and he spoke with the same raspy voice he had told her not to call him Tiberias. "You look like you could use some help."

“Stay away from me,” she sneered looking up at his sharp angles. He was inches away. 

“Afraid you’ll break if I touch you?” He caged her placing his palms on the hood. While his raspy voice sent shivers down her spine, his tone was clinical, like he wanted to dissect her on an examination table. Expose every cell of her body beneath his implacable gaze. 

And then she was sitting on the hood, arching back as he loomed closer and closer standing between her parted legs, burning the air between them with the heat that radiated from his body. 

“I’m not afraid of you.” She managed to say even though she could barely breathe. 

“Well, you must be afraid of something, because you keep telling yourself that you hate me and we both know that’s not true.” 

Mare had to lean on her elbows to keep from falling completely. “I _do_ hate you.” She was fuming, ready to commit murder. There were a thousand things she wanted to do to him; rip him apart into tiny pieces and use them to fertilize the soil. Maybe that way she could go back to her peaceful life. Get rid of the awful hot, aching poison he had spread through her body. 

“Ok, kill me then.” He offered softly. As it happened in dreams, thoughts and words blended until there was no limit between one or the other, so he could answer to her thoughts. Tiberias let his lips hover just a millimeter away from her ear as he said. “Do your worst.” And now his lips were right in front of her; plush, red, and tempting like an apple. She wanted a bite. 

Mare surged forward in a quick movement expecting to meet warm flesh to appease the hunger only to find nothing but humid, empty air. With a gasp, she opened her eyes to the dimly lit bedroom. Her breathing and heart rate deep and wild and why the hell wouldn’t it quiet down? She took in her surrounding with increasing hostility toward her own body. 

While she may have been regaining consciousness, the images and the sensations lingered, making the sensitive points of her body clamor for attention. She looked at her phone on the nightstand and it still was half an hour away from the alarm. She had time... 

She let her hand travel the very familiar path to the place beneath her pajama shorts. As soon as the contact triggered the pleasant jolt of energy, Tiberias' stupid handsome face from the dream appeared in her mind. 

_Nope_. 

She was absolutely not doing that. She retrieved her hand, threw the sheets aside, and padded to the bathroom. Nothing like a cold shower to start the day. 

~🍋~

An hour later, Mare and Shade set foot on the Saint Victoria Academy grounds. She paused a moment to take in the regal exposed brick front of the main building, and the shiny modern addition of the newer building in the back made entirely of glass. The Academy crest contained a flame and a feather. The building contained Mare’s hopes and dreams for the kind of life she wanted for her son. 

“Are you ready?” She shook the small hand she was holding. 

Shade smoothed his auburn slicked back hair and pinched his cheek, a gesture he had learned from his granny. “Now I am.” 

“Let’s go.” 

Inside the building, they waited 10 minutes before the roll call and another 30 before their names were called for the individual interview. Today was the first day of interviews and the main hall was packed with helicopter parents, hovering over children in stuffy clothes, feeding them last-minute infodumps with flashcards. Shit, should they have studied for this? Well, it was too late for that. Mare took them to a bench away from the crowd. They were making Shade nervous. 

He sat down cross-legged on the bench and pulled one of those miniature hotel-drawer bibles and started reading a random page. He was wearing a white short-sleeved button-up shirt tucked in the belt of his khaki pants, and polished moccasins, and now with the Bible, he looked like a preacher’s kid. He was free to believe in anything he chose, but he had never expressed any interest before. 

“Shade.” Mare scrunched her face in confusion. “What on earth is that?” 

“A Holy Bible.” Shade waved the tiny book with a _‘isn’t it obvious?’_ flair. 

“Yeah, I know that.” She may have never been religious, like her parents, but she knew enough to recognize it. “But why do you have it?” 

“I thought you said this was a catholic school.” 

A loud snort escaped her lips and she bent over, covering her mouth. The nearest parents glanced disapprovingly in her direction. 

“Or was it another religion?” Shade’s wide horrified eyes went to the crowd as if looking for clues for what other religion it might be. 

“No, no. It is.” She pulled him closer to her in a one-armed hug. “But they’re not going to ask you questions about theology.” 

“Are you sure about that?” He stared at her long enough to make her question that. 

“Hm. Well, it can’t do any harm to read some of it.” 

The one on one interview went great for her, or at least she thought so. One of the counselors, who also happened to be a nun, had asked a bunch of seemingly random questions about her work and their daily routines. How could Shade’s favorite breakfast have anything to do with his academic potential, she did not know. 

When she was going back to the main hall, she nearly ran into someone’s chest. 

“I’m so- What are you doing here?” They both asked at the same time. 

“I’m here for Coriane’s interview.” 

“And I’m here for Shade.” Mare and Tiberias spoke over each other again. 

The mention of Cori possibly coming to the same school was enough to make her forget, momentarily, her feud with him. She remembered him saying something about a new school the previous day. 

“How did it go?” he asked, getting over the surprise faster than her. 

“Great, I think... I don’t know.” She grimaced. “Yours?” 

“If knowing the names to all of Paw Patrol’s characters is what they were looking for, then I did amazing.” 

Mare chuckled. He had a sense of humor, go figure. “Damn, I _knew_ I should’ve gone over that last night.” 

“Yeah, I slept like shit last night mentally practicing the answers to what I thought they were going to ask and for nothing.” He confessed rubbing his temple. 

“I didn’t sleep so well either,” she muttered thinking of what had woken her up before her alarm. _He had_ , haunting her dreams. A nightmare. 

“I just- I need Cori to come to this school.” The tension of his figure told her this was a life or death subject to him as well. 

Why? Why would a rich guy who could build a mansion from the ground up in barely three months care so much about this? He could probably bribe the administration into doing backflips if he really wanted. 

“Relax, she’ll do great at any school.” 

He shuffled on his feet for a moment, considering her words, before telling her to follow him. Mare thought of staying there, just to spite him, but she had time to kill before Shade was done with his interview. 

They turned around the corner into a small room adjacent to the main hall. There were glass display cabinets filled with trophies and awards, and plaques on the walls. Tiberias stopped in front of a display. 

“My mother studied here,” he spoke earnestly, looking at the picture with adoration. The girl in the picture had made it into the Honor Hall by being the founder of the robotics club. She was a pale willowy brunette with lively light-blue eyes; holding something that looked like a chunky toy car in her hands. Coriane Jacos looked nothing like her son. Still, there was a distinctive kindness in her eyes that she could certainly recognize in Tiberias. 

“A woman ahead of her time,” Mare took an instant liking to the girl in the picture. 

“She was,” he smiled sadly. “I think this is where she was the happiest. She passed away when I was three.” He explained. 

It made sense. Mare wanted to comfort him somehow, but she didn’t know how. 

“I’m willing to bet Cori will be just as happy studying here as your mom was.” Mare smiled sympathetically. Her hand hovered, reaching for him but she dropped it before he even noticed the movement. 

He let his eyes rest on her face for a beat too long like he was basking in the scarce warmth of a kind word, a barely-there smile. It made her throat constrict painfully. “I hope so. And I really hope Shade can look after her during recess times, at least.” 

She liked the implication that Shade was admitted and her smile widened. “If someone is going to be the bodyguard out of the two of them, it’s going to be Cori.” 

“Calore! Barrow!” A female voice called from the main hall. “Has anyone seen Tiberias Calore and Mare Barrow?” 

They shared a puzzled look and went to the hall. The nun that had conducted her interview was standing at the landing of the stairwell. 

“We’re here.” Tiberias raised his hand. 

“Wonderful. If you would be so kind to follow me, please.” The woman asked. “There’s been some confusion with your forms but don’t fret, it’ll take a minute to correct.” 

As soon as she turned her back to them, they shared another glance. A worried one this time. 

They went to the administrative part of the building, where the wood-paneled walls had less colorful educational posters, and more announcement boards plastered on them. The nun, sister Skonos, didn’t seem worried, but to be fair, she had worn a very neutral calm face the entire morning. 

At the end of the hallway, both of their children were sitting on a bench in front of the principal’s office. They were talking and laughing without a care in the world. 

Sister Skonos opened the heavy door and motioned for them to enter. “Should I bring in the children, Reverend Mother?” 

“No,” the woman said sharply from behind a desk. “Close the door, Sister Wren.” 

Her desk plaque read Revered Mother B. Blonos. The woman could have been either in her forties or her second century, there was no way to tell from her severe eyes and stretched skin over sharp bones. Her hair was covered by a white cap and a black veil, unlike Sister Skono’s; whose black hair was partially covered by a lighter white veil. 

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” They formally shook hands and Mare had to suppress a cringe from how cold Blonos’ hand was. “Please sit.” 

They sat in a pair of leather chairs in front of the desk. This was giving her major high school flashbacks. 

Sister Wren stood next to the principal’s chair and looked at them with reassuring grey eyes. 

“I’ll be direct. Your kids are exceptional and we would love to have them be a part of Saint Victoria Academy.” Blonos spoke. 

Mare could sense a _‘but’_ on the way. She braced herself. 

“But I’m afraid there must have been some confusion from your part when you read the required forms.” 

“What do you mean?” Tiberias managed to ask calmly.

She was glad to have him next to her, much to her surprise. Blonos gave her the creeps. 

“While at Saint Victoria we understand changing times, we try to uphold some values, like family, the best we can.” She gave them a pointed look. “That’s why we have standards for our students. We also understand that things, statistically speaking, have a fifty percent chance of changing.” The woman kept speaking in that formal tone that would make her lids heavy if this weren’t such a distressing situation. “But, at least for our new enrollments, we make a point to only admit students from families with Christian values, even if they are not specifically catholic, or protestant. Or of any faith, for that matter.” 

Tiberias must’ve gotten fed up with the dragging of the subject. “Excuse me, Reverend Mother. I’m not sure I get what the issue seems to be.” 

Blonos laced her bony fingers on top of the desk and leveled them with her merciless gaze. “Saint Victoria doesn’t admit single-parent children.” 

A blow to the stomach, ringing in her ears. The room fell out of focus. So close, yet so far away. There were always barriers for people like her. She felt so powerless she wanted to jump over the desk and shake the woman by the neck and tear this place down brick by brick, but Blonos was right. She had read the _‘married parents’_ requirement, but she had thought it to be a forgotten line of ink on the freaking 20-page document that had probably been written a hundred years ago. 

Tiberias had to be thinking the exact same thing because his face was a mixture of bewilderment and crushing disappointment. 

And then, an idea. A spark in the dark. 

She hadn’t made it this far in life only to have the door shoved close on her nose. She would stick her foot in the opening and by God, Shade would study here and destroy this fucked up system from the inside. 

Mare shook her head lacing her words with confusion. “I still don’t see how that has anything to do with us.” She slowly turned to Tiberias, who was looking at her with a question in his bronze eyes. Understanding dawned on his features as she reached across the space that separated them and held the hand that lay limply over his knee. 

Her soul returned to her body with the contact. His coarse skin was hot, and his grip was firm like an anchor that made the room stop spinning. 

Mare returned her eyes to Blonos. _Fuck you, ma’am_. She smiled cordially. “There must have been a mistake because _we_ are married.” 


	5. Let the game begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get started I just wanted to thank you for the support for this fic!! It means the world to read your feedback and your reactions 🤧❤️  
> Now...  
> A family-friendly chapter in MY fic? It's more likely than you think.

“I told you, Reverend Mother.” Sister Wren turned to the eldest woman, speaking with a patient tone as she leaned forward to point at some papers on the desk. “Their address matches in the files and the kids kept mentioning each other and both of their parents during the interview.” 

Mare would’ve been a lot more surprised by the unexpected ally Sister Wren was turning out to be, if it weren’t for the electricity that ran through her nerves from the touch of Tiberias’ hand. How very _Victorian_ it was, to be suddenly ‘married’ with a guy she barely knew in front of religious authority, feeling she might faint from the sensory overload of a hand touch. She needed to get laid urgently. Not with him, though... and she needed to stop thinking about sex in front of a pair of nuns. 

With a forceful blink, she returned her thoughts to the conversation. 

“This situation might be a bit modern for me.” Blonos raised her hand to silence Sister Skonos. “Care to clarify?” 

Tiberias and her shared a brief glance. She found it odd how collected he looked. Maybe he was criminally good at keeping his emotions in check, or maybe he trusted her to lie their way out of this. Either way, it was clear she was meant to do the talking. 

“Yes.” 1,2,3 seconds while she crafted a story at light speed. “Here’s the thing...” 

The following minutes, Mare sweat like a sinner in church, literally, as she explained why had she kept her maiden last name, why they didn’t wear wedding bands, why they hadn’t mentioned each other at all during their personal interviews. Tiberias helped her by embellishing their story at some points. He had, very unnecessarily in Mare’s opinion, told Blonos that they had gotten married at an Italian chapel at the beginning of the summer by the same priest who had baptized him when he was a baby. 

Ok, so maybe it hadn’t been so unnecessary after all because that last bit of information sealed the deal for the Reverend Mother. 

“Really?” Her steely features softened into something almost human. “I have a lot of Italian friends from my travels to meet the Holy Father. What region did you say it was?” 

A woman like that had friends? That’s a miracle she wouldn’t believe unless she witnessed it firsthand. 

“La Toscana. My great grandfather was from Arezzo.” Tiberias' boyish smile almost distracted her from the fact he had placed his other hand on top of hers in a casual display of familiarity that made her insides spin like a pinwheel. “If you ever visit, you’ll be more than welcome to stay at the Calore Villa.” 

To Mare’s absolute shock, Blonos fell under his spell, lowering her face to hide a faint blush. 

“Oh, you’re too kind, mister Calore. Tough, it would create a conflict of interest.” And back was the unfeeling principal. “I won’t take any more of your time. I apologize for the confusion. The issue has been cleared up. We’ll send Coriane and Shade’s information in single correspondence from now on.” 

Mare let out a breath with the pent-up tension from the moment she had walked into the office— No, from the moment she had first decided she wanted her son to go to that school. 

Blonos rose to her feet and walked them to the door before shaking their hands. “Welcome to Saint Victoria Academy.” 

~📘~

Her hand was still burning from the ghost of the contact of her new ‘husband’ even as she held the steering wheel with such force her knuckles went white. She had sneakily pulled it free from his grasp before Blonos opened the door, so the kids didn’t see the image and get the wrong idea. Then, the kids had done the weirdest thing; Cori had jumped into _her_ arms and Shade had hugged Tiberias like they actually were a big happy fam... that was just outlandish. Shade probably saw Tiberias as a cool older friend at most. 

If the Reverend Mother had had any doubts at that point, that image must have erased them. 

Tiberias then had muttered a _‘we need to talk’_ as they made their way to the parking lot. 

Now, as she pulled into her driveway, too distracted by the adrenaline of the previous events to pay attention to what Shade was excitedly blabbering about, she finally whispered out loud. 

“I did it.” Happiness filled her like helium and made her soar. Shade was officially a Saint Victoria student. It had come at a cost. An invisible needle popped her happiness balloon. “What the fuck have I done?” 

“Mommy,” Shade poked his head forward from the backseat. “I like our car rides, but can you please open the door?” 

She had been staring into nothing for who knows how long. “Yes! I’m sorry, honey.” She pressed the button. 

She stepped out the car to the cursed sight of her least favorite person, arms crossed, brow furrowed, standing on her driveway. Waiting for her like a parent about to scold a child. Playing her part, Mare huffed like a rebellious teen, shoved the door closed, and pressed her back to the car. 

“What did you want to discuss?” She asked impatiently fidgeting with the keychain. A tiny lantern in the shape of a lightning bolt that she turned on and off, on and off. 

“Hmm let me see,” he tapped his chin. “Could it be the fact that you just made me commit fraud, perhaps?” 

“I made you?!” anger came so easy to her when he was around. It lit up like a gas fireplace. “I saved our asses back there. A thank you would be nice. And I wasn’t the one making up fake Italian Villas, Tiberias!” Seething with indignation, she had closed the distance between them without even noticing. She had to crane her neck to keep glaring at him. “You wanted this as much as I did.” 

He looked at her for a long heavy moment before answering with carefully chosen words, as if he could slip and fall if he said the wrong thing. “I wanted Cori to go to Saint Victoria, yes. The legal way. I wasn’t lying about the Villa or the priest. My family really is from Italy and my grandmother insisted on me getting a baptism when my father took us on vacation when I was a baby. And would you please stop clicking that damn thing?” 

He reached for her keychain and she stepped away. She couldn’t let him touch her again. She chose to kick the gravel as she walked in circles, not even looking at him, clasping her hands behind her back. 

“What were you going to do? Bribe them? That isn’t much better than what we did.” 

Tiberias sighed. “No. I could have sued them for discrimination and be done with it.” 

Mare stopped pacing and frowned at him, being reminded for the millionth time why she hated his guts. Of course a rich white man would willingly play the victim in a case that would surely attract the media attention and not give it a second thought. If she even thought of doing that (if she had the money, too), Shade would get blacklisted by every Ivy League university in Norta for the rest of his life. No, thank you. 

“You’re such a Karen.” 

“I’m not!” he defended himself, placing his hand on his chest, wounded. “I like to get things done a certain way. Legally, preferably.” 

“That’s what a Karen would say,” Mare poked again. “And the system is rigged.” 

He ran his fingers through his hair and heaved a defeated sigh. “Fine, you win. It’s not like we can march up to Blonos’ office and tell her we lied. How do we make this work?” He gestured to the air between them and Mare had to physically raise her palms, putting a stop to whatever he was implying. 

“ _This_ , need I remind you, doesn’t exist. It’s not like the school will send a detective to make sure we’re sleeping on the same bed.” She scoffed but her miserable brain showed her a vivid image that combined the dream from last night and her bed, and suddenly she couldn’t look him in the eye. _Disgusting_ , truly. 

“I guess,” he said a bit hoarsely, looking away as well. “If something comes up...” 

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.” 

~📘~

A small fortune was spent buying everything the school required. Luckily, Gisa and her mother were excellent seamstresses and saved her a lot of money by making Shade’s uniform. 

The boy modeled the clothes on his granny’s kitchen as Gisa gushed over him and Ruth took countless pictures of her _‘Principito guapo’_. Mare stood at the doorway looking at him proudly, as a claw constricted her heart painfully because he was growing up so fast and she couldn’t protect him from whatever that place had in store for him, even if it was for the best. 

The uniform consisted of grey slacks, a darker blazer with the embroidered Saint Victoria Academy crest in silver and red, and a matching tie. Ruth was right. He did look like a handsome little prince, with his auburn curls brushed away from his proud soft brown visage. As years went by, Mare grew more and more thankful that gene pool gamble had made him look like a Barrow, and not like the random guy that had provided half the genetic information. 

It’s not that he had been bad or ugly. He had been unremarkable, forgettable. She hadn’t considered once to look for him, and even if she had, at this point she barely remembered his name. 

Families came in all forms anyway. 

“Mom, he must be in a sauna with that blazer.” Mare interrupted the fashion show. Walking over to Shade to free him of the uncomfortable clothing. He mouthed a _‘Thank you’_ when she took his blazer off. 

“Am I not allowed to enjoy my eldest grandson?” Ruth protested, but she did put her phone away. “I can’t wait to have more little ones running about.” 

“You already have Clara and Marcos.” Gisa pointed out with a chuckle as she placed pins back on the pincushion at her wrist. “How many more do you want?” 

“Your generation and their ridiculous one-child policy,” Ruth clicked her tongue. “That isn’t healthy for a child.” 

“And sharing one bathroom with four siblings is?” Mare laughed and Gisa joined her, adding a comment about the Barrow boys never-ending grooming routines back when they were conceited teenagers. 

“Shade would benefit greatly from a baby brother or sister. That’s all I’m saying.” Ruth gave her a mother-knows-best look. 

_He already has Cori_. She caught herself right on time before the words left her mouth. That could’ve been wildly misinterpreted. 

Especially with her current arrangement with Tiberias. 

~📘~

“Mom, we’re gonna be late!” Shade whined bouncing on his feet looking at the clock over the stove. 

“You’ll be fine. Stay still.” Mare said through gritted teeth. A drop of sweat fell down her temple as she looked from the tutorial playing on her phone on the counter to Shade’s tie. “If anyone is going to be late, it’s me.” 

She managed to fuck up the knot for the fifth time. She undid it with a frustrated grunt, only to start over. How could 1 million viewers have found that tutorial useful? 

“I bet you want to use your curse word ticket.” Shade smiled smugly. It was a game Mare had created as soon as he had begun the first grade. They got one _‘Curse word ticket’_ every week and had to save it for special situations. She found it was more effective than to forbid him from saying them altogether. Sometimes one really needed to drop an F-bomb. 

“You have no idea.” The wide end went over the other and then back, this was the easy part. “Remember not to use yours around any teachers-” 

“Or snitches.” He finished for her. “I know.” 

Mare grinned despite her current predicament. This was the part where the guy from the tutorial pulled some jujutsu moves with the tie and she got lost completely. 

“Fucking hell!” she blurted out when the knot turned into a senseless mess. 

Shade made a ripping sound as he ripped an imaginary ticket with his hand. 

The neighbor’s voice drifted into the kitchen through the open window and Shade ran for the door. “I can ask Cal for help!” 

He was out the door before she could say anything. Mare gave up and picked up his backpack from the floor, going after him. 

Some moments, or people, in the case of Shade’s father, that should be important in theory, would get lost in the blur of random circumstances in life. Not quite forgotten, but not memorable either. Just _there_. 

And other moments struck the mind like a high definition picture of colors, shapes, and smells even though they should mean nothing. Like a crumpled dollar bill found at the bottom of an old jacket, or an exceptionally good bite of a pie, or a summer Marigold blooming late into November. Unremarkable in the grand scheme of things, yet indelible. 

At that moment, Mare experienced the later. 

She stood still in the middle of her garden watching Shade run to Tiberias, calling his name with familiarity. 

“Cal!” 

Tiberias was loading some boxes on the back on his Jeep, while Cori sat at the driver’s seat dangling her feet to the street. She was wearing an impeccable uniform; blazer, grey pleated skirt, and a perfectly tied tie. Her blond hair was pulled back in a too-tight ponytail and she didn’t look happy about it. At least until she spotted her friend approaching and her face lit up with her signature mischievous toothless smile. 

Then _he_ emerged from the back of the vehicle, wearing a deep blue suit perfectly tailored to his physique. He grinned at Shade, his eyes sparkling with genuine affection that kicked Mare right under her ribs and left her breathless. 

“Look at you! You look like a million bucks, buddy.” 

He crouched like a friendly giant to get to the kid’s eye-level. Mare couldn't hear what Shade said but it was easy to guess when Tiberias lifted his amused gaze to hers for an instant. Then he took the tie from his hands and tied it in the blink of an eye. 

The air smelled of wet soil and sap from the nearby trees. The temperature was already warm despite the shy sun rays of the early morning; summer refusing to concede the weather to the autumn right around the corner. A bird was building a nest in the Dogwood tree next to her garage. This and another thousand insignificant details were being engraved into her memory as she observed the way Tiberias’ eyes crinkled with mirth as he heard Shade telling him something funny. 

Her blood was flooding with a long-forgotten sweltering emotion that made her heart beat too loudly. 

Then, the moment passed. 

“Good morning, Mare.” He straightened to his full height. 

For some reason, she didn’t feel any animosity toward him- or anything in the universe that morning. Except for the damn tie knot tutorial; Screw that guy. On the contrary, she felt lightheaded and filled with something sweet like the satiety after eating too much fruit. 

“Good morning.” Was- was she smiling at him? She wiped the dreamy look from her face. “I could have done it.” She was talking about Shade’s tie. 

They met in the middle of the empty street. 

“I’m sure you could have. Eventually.” He teased her. 

She could’ve told him to fuck off, but there were more effective words to annoy him. She knew just which ones to use. 

“Whatever. We should probably tell the children what to say in case a teacher asks, right?” 

“What? You’re telling me now?!” He didn’t take well to have last-minute plans thrust upon him. 

Mare shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. Let me do the talking. That’s what you did last time, anyways.” She patted his arm patronizingly and she went to the children. 

After saying hello to Cori and complimenting her on the new uniform, Mare gave Shade his backpack. She tried to sound as casual as possible while explaining. 

“Listen up, kids.” She cleared her throat uncomfortably. Tiberias was standing right beside her. “Here’s the deal. Your new school got a few things mixed up, and they think Tiberias and I are married. Which is not true. But until we can clarify that, if anybody asks, don’t contradict them.” 

_That went smoothly_. She was feeling pretty satisfied with her explanation until Shade’s mouth fell open and Cori emitted a high-pitched scream that could shatter glass. 

“You want us to lie?” 

“You got married to dad!” 

“Lying is bad! You always say that!” 

“Are you husband and wife?!” 

The kids had gone into full sugar-overdose mode. They kept throwing at her offended, surprised, ridiculous assumptions faster than she could even process them. 

Cori clutched her hands, looking up at her with bright, wide golden eyes. “Can we get a puppy now?” 

_Ok, time to bail._

“Uhm, Tiberias. Don't you want to add something?” 

“Why? You’re doing so well right now.” He was enjoying watching her failure. She shot him a desperate look. “Fine. But next time we talk this kind of stuff beforehand.” 

“Or two puppies now that we can all help!” 

“Am I changing my last name to Calore?” Shade’s face twisted in confusion. 

Tiberias stepped forward and extended his hands, palms to the floor, in a placating gesture. The kids immediately shut up and looked at him obediently. Why couldn’t she elicit that kind of respect? 

“I know this sounds a little crazy, ok? _Nothing_ is going to change. We’re not together, but the school thinks that we are. Lying is bad, well said, Shade. but until we solve the issue, it’s what we’re going to do.” He didn’t seem so sure about that last part. “Think of this as a pretend game. Do you understand?” 

Cori deflated, letting go of Mare’s hand. “So, no puppy?” She sighed. 

“No. Sorry, darling.” 

She whipped her head to the side, her ponytail drawing a dramatic arc on the air. “Ugh. Fine.” 

Shade nodded slowly, accepting the situation despite the shadow of suspicion behind his gaze. 

With that conversation out of the way, Mare let out a breath. She deigned to share a weak smile with Tiberias. After all, he had calmed the waters twice now. Even though he was not ok with the deceit; guilt was written in the crease between his dark eyebrows. Mare guessed it bothered him way more than he let on. Still, when he looked at her, the guilt seemed to evaporate as they shared a glance. An agreement. A secret. 

~📘~

If he hadn’t suspected something fishy was going on before (which he had), Shade would have started suspecting the moment he saw the pair of grown-ups share a grown-up look when they thought he and Cori were distracted, right after they agreed to the ‘Pretend game’. 

A _grown-up look_ was that mysterious face adults made around each other when they started talking about Santa Claus, relatives who weren’t at the table, illnesses, and that other thing they always said _‘There are children around’_ between laughs before they stopped talking about. Shade already knew what it was. He was smart so he had figured it out. _Taxes_. 

He hadn’t been able to figure out what they were, or how they worked, but he knew _of_ them. 

This other thing, though. This thing going on between his mom and Cal... he couldn’t put his finger on it. So he started to observe. Observe them and research the books he borrowed from Ada. 

The investigation was slowed down since he had this new school, classmates, and teachers to adjust to. Slowed, but not delayed. 

During boring classes, he would fill a page with the things that had changed, or that had called his attention about his mother or his favorite neighbor (he even dared to call him a friend). 

In almost four weeks, the single page multiplied until he had to make a dedicated notebook for the investigation like real scientists did. He named it: _The mystery of the pretend game_. The name was consulted with both Ada and Nani, and they were impressed with it so that was definitely a good sign. 

_«Mom always makes a face when Cal shows up. That face Clara calls ‘angry’. But she isn’t really angry because when he leaves, she smiles. Mom never smiles when she’s angry for real.»_

_«Cal drives me and Cori to school on his way to work. He and Mom talk on the driveway before. It’s interesting because Mom normally doesn’t chat in the mornings. I tried many times and she is nice about it but she just yawns and rubs her eyes and nods.»_

_«Cal asked me mom’s favorite fruit. It is peach. I asked if he likes peach and he said NO. The next day, I see him eating a peach. Why did he buy what he doesn’t like? His mom made him?»_

_«In the market we went to the Honey place. Mary and_ _mom talked. Mary said that the cookies are on offer, and that her dog got a haircut, and that Cal is very hot, and that she wants to climb him like a tree. The two first things are true, I saw. But Cal is a normal temperature (I think. Use a thermometer.) and he is not tall like a tree (I am an expert tree climber. Trust me). I think mom is mad at Mary now because later she advised to Cal to buy honey in another place.»_

_«Mom’s friends from work went to the house yesterday. Ella said something very interesting. She said mom ‘wilfuli’ (ask Ada about that word) ignores her woman needs … and she didn’t finish the word because mom gave her a grown-up look. I googled woman needs and all sites were confusing except one that said a ‘woman needs to watch Pride and Prejudice at least once a month’. That is very helpful. Now I know a new word (Prejudice: preconceived judgment or opinion) and I have to watch that film.» _

_«It was my turn to pick the film for movie night and I picked the Pride and Prejudice film. Mom made a face and asked me if I was sure. We watched it. IT IS TRUE.»_

Shade’s powerful observation skills were put to the test, paying attention to both the film and his mother as the movie progressed. There was a lot of talking and a bunch of words he didn’t understand, but then a silent scene happened and his questions were answered. 

At one point, the lady had been walking to the carriage and the Darcy dude was next to her. Then he had grabbed her hand to help her up the carriage and the movie had made a big deal out of it. Shade watched his mom grin for an instant and shake her head. It had been brief, but it was obvious it had made her happy. Was this the ‘Woman need’? To have your hand touched by a tall guy? That was super easy to arrange. 

Elizabeth was like his mom and the Darcy guy had to be Cal. Right? Grandma had called Cal handsome several times, and other people, like uncle Shade, had called him hot. After asking around, Shade had found out _Hot_ was another way to say good looking. And he was very tall. That made him a Darcy in Shade’s eyes. 

Shade approached Cori during recess. She was sitting on top of the jungle gym, surrounded by a crowd. Much to her aunt Eve’s pride, Cori, with her chatty nature and charming smile, had become the most popular kid in the first grade. Shade, on the other hand, was shier and was barely starting to socialize with his classmates. The playground was nice, but it was too monotonous compared to his beloved woods. That meant he spent a good portion of his free time in the library. It was definitely an improvement in comparison to the one back at his old school. 

“The thief kissed the prince’s brother and the prince. She kissed the two princes.” She said waving her hand matter-of-factly, and the crowd gathered around her gasped with horror and delight. 

“Liar! My mom says you can’t kiss before you get married,” another girl with pigtails accused her. 

“Then your mom isn’t very smart, Brenda.” She hadn’t meant any harm, she usually never did, but pigtails ran away crying anyway. “I’m sorry- Shade! Look, friends, this is my brother.” She winked at him and jumped down from the structure. 

Shade waved at the kids, wishing Cori would hurry up so they could go. Too many unknown eyes and faces made his brain feel like it was spinning inside his skull and made his skin prickly. Cori sensed it somehow and dragged him, linking their arms, to a bench under a row of poplars. 

“Look what I got.” She pulled a pack of gummy bears from her blazer pocket and offered him some. 

He took one but Cori insisted he took more, so he did. 

“What were you talking about with your friends?” He was curious. 

“Last night’s episode of the Electric Princess! I made it more interesting.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “I added some bits that made it more exciting.” 

That made no sense. Shade eat his gummy bears in silence and only spoke after he was done. “Cori, you are very good with people. I need your help to resolve a mystery.” 

“Yessy yes yes,” She shimmied her shoulders thrilled. “I _am_ very good with people. Aunt Eve says so.” 

Aunt Eve was a recurring character in conversations with Cori. Apparently, the woman had had more impact on the girl’s life than her own mother. 

“You can’t tell anyone about this.” 

Cori shut her lips with an imaginary lock and threw away the key. 

“Good. I think something is happening with my mom, and I think it involves your dad. We have to find a way to make your dad touch my mom’s hand.” 

Cori squealed and jumped to her feet. “And then they kiss and get married!” 

“What? No!” Who had said anything about marriage? And Kissing was disgusting. His mom would never do that. “You just said Brenda’s mom was dumb for saying a kiss goes with marriage.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, Shade.” She said, condescending. “I’m a girl. I know stuff. The wedding part is _after_ the princess kisses the prince- or the princess - and they live happily ever after. The answer is _always_ love.” 

All this talk about kissing was making him feel icky. “I want my mom to be happy... But for now, help me with the hand touching, and then we see how it goes.” 

The bell rang, signaling the end of recess, and the beginning of a new plan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read my other fics, you know I headcanon the Barrows as Colombian. No particular reason, I just really love my Colombian bros.  
> Also "Calore" literally means heat in Italian, but y'all probably knew that.  
> I tried to make Shade's PoV age-appropriate without making him sound ridiculous idk.  
> Thanks for reading!!


	6. What a girl wants, what a girl needs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so grateful for your reactions to the fic 🥰🥰 I'm blown away guys and I read every single comment here and on Tumblr. Also, thanks for the Marecal songs. I'm crying over them 24/7 like a pro lmao

Autumn had started to insinuate its colors on the treetops of the woods surrounding Notch street, painting them orange, red, and gold hues. The weather was still nice, though. That’s why Shade insisted so strongly they took the long creek trail for their Saturday hike. At least, that’s what Mare thought. 

She had no idea of the carefully crafted plan the children were putting into motion that morning. They had even drawn a map with crayons, depicting the winding trail that surrounded the hill and ended on a dirt road that ran alongside the creek. 

Mare’s outfit consisted of comfortable running shorts, a purple dry-fit T-shirt, and sneakers. On these hikes Shade liked to act as an explorer so he dressed the part, wearing a khaki safari vest and matching hat. 

The hike started just like all of the others, with peaceful talk and comfortable silence. The woods had their own language, one of chirping birds, swaying leaves, and scurrying creatures. One had to be respectful of its apparent chaos to be granted the gift to understand it. Shade felt he had been granted the gift. That way, no matter how deep into the trees he went, he was never afraid. 

“Look,” he whispered reaching for his mom’s arm and pointing at a slate-blue bird with a large crested head. “That’s a Belted Kingfisher.” 

“Let me guess, it eats fish?” She asked with interest. 

Something Shade had come to learn during his long seven years of life was that, when it came to telling people fun stuff like bird species and plant curiosities, there were three kinds of listeners. The first kind, like Samson back at his old school, were the dangerous ones. He had made the mistake of correcting Samson’s wrong assumption about mating behaviors in the natural world (he had said it was unnatural for boys to like boys), by letting him know that some male animals _did_ mate with male ones, same thing for the females. How had Samson reacted to his kind correction? he had pushed him to the floor, kicked him in the shin, and called him a sissy. 

Mom had been furious. She had told him he should punch that kid if something like that happened again. She even made him practice punching a pillow the correct way so he wouldn’t hurt his knuckles. Shade had instead opted for a more strategic approach. He had put basil leaves in Samson’s sandwich and told him they were poisonous after he had eaten half of it. Then Samson had apologized crying in exchange for the cure, which had been water with mint. The bully had never bothered Shade again, neither had he repeated his hateful words. 

The second type of people were the ones like his grandparents or his classmates. He could _technically_ tell them the fun stuff, but they ended up changing the subject too soon, even though he hadn’t even gotten to the best parts. It was disappointing. 

The third type was the best. He could count them with one hand: Uncle Shade, Ada, Mom, and, most recently, Cal. These were people who made interesting questions and told him even better stuff. Talking to them was always exciting. 

Cal knew way more about cars and history than his teachers did. He also made the funniest jokes in the world whenever Shade told him interesting facts. He had spent hours sitting in a corner of Cal’s garage (which was three times the size of his house and way more impressive) during the summer, chatting while he worked on his cars. 

To this day, he remembered the time Cal had told him he was thinking of turning his lawn into a garden like the one they had. Shade had wished him good luck planting everything and Cal had cleverly answered _‘Thank you for rooting for me’._ Shade had laughed for what felt like hours. 

“It does! It eats tiny fish and it nests next to the water.” 

“Nice. A house with a view.” 

“But it’s also very territorial,” Shade continued. The fact that they had seen a Belted Kingfisher indicated they were close to the creek. The meeting point. “That means they don’t like sharing their space with other neighbors.” 

That made his mom smile like she had remembered a joke. “Really?” 

“Yup!” 

“Good for them.” 

A few yards further, the trail opened up into the dirt road. As soon as they reached it, it was time for action. 

“See that?” he gasped pointing at the nothing down the road. “A Bluebird!” He took off running like his life depended on it. 

“Wait, Shade! Don’t run here!” 

The road was on a pronounced slope so gravity helped his sprint like he had grown wings. He spotted Cal and Cori down at the creek. His mom was running after him just like he had intended, shouting at him to slow down. 

“Hey! Hey Cori!” He jumped and waved. Both neighbors glanced in his direction. “Oh, my shoelace.” He said skidding to a halt, then quickly crouching and turning slightly to the side. 

“I told you not to-!” Mare was saying, but she didn’t even have time to slow down. 

~👟~

Mare could have sworn that the last thing she saw before she soared through the air like a quarterback trying to make it to the end line on a Superbowl game, was her beautiful son shoving his foot forward. She must’ve seen wrong. Why would Shade trip her on purpose? 

The hard ground gave her no answers as she violently crashed and rolled several feet, picking up a thick cloud of dust and gravel. Chaos, the world was spinning, beating the shit out of every single one of her muscles in the process, and then she was staring into the blurry canopy of trees and the blue sky beyond. 

_Ouch._ She coughed. 

“Mare!” “Mom!” She heard a chorus of frantic voices and hurried steps approach. 

There was a distant sun, and then there were two. Two incandescent pools of molten gold and bronze hovering above her in a face of carved marble like that of a Greek god. Maybe she had died and now she was in heaven. 

_So, so beautiful._ She wanted to reach out and- 

“Are you ok?” He asked. 

Mare blinked several times. Tiberias was kneeling next to her, inclining his head to inspect her closer. He reached to touch her face and Mare regained rational thought. She batted his hand away before he could touch her. 

“I’m fine,” she grunted as she forcefully propped herself up on her elbows. 

“Are you sure? That was quite a spectacular fall.” He stood up and extended his hands to her. 

Mare ignored him and dusted off some of the dirt from her shoulders and legs. A useless feat, taking into consideration her bruised face, arms, knees, and, worst of all, her pride. “I’m fine” she repeated, annoyed, and stood up on her own. 

If she had been paying attention to them, she would’ve seen the kids share a panicked look. She was inadvertently ruining their plans. Rendering Shade’s nearly matricidal attempt useless. 

“But are you sure sure you’re ok?” Cori asked desperately. 

Luck was on the kids' side. 

At that exact moment, Mare put weight on her left foot. A bolt of white blinding pain shot up her leg, ripping a whine from her throat as she lost balance. Tiberias appeared in front of her and caught her by the shoulders before she could eat dirt for the second time. 

He steadied her and she had no other choice than to hold on to his shoulder for support. He bent down for a moment to examine her ankle. 

Awareness of the throbbing pain was washing over her, making her nauseous and making her sweat cold. 

“It’s already swelling. That’s definitely a sprain.” His fingers barely brushed her skin but Mare felt a new stab of pain. 

“FU-” She stopped when she met the kids' worried eyes. “Fudge.” 

“Sorry.” 

“It’s ok.” She wheezed, shifting her weight to the right foot with precarious balance. 

“Do we call an ambulance?” Shade asked, looking nervous. 

“There’s no need for that. Let’s go home and I’ll put some ice.” The last thing she wanted was for Shade to get anxious over this. He was usually a calm boy but when something stressed him out, things could get pretty ugly. “Why don’t you and Cori head home?” 

“But you’re hurt.” He protested, starting to hyperventilate. 

Shit. It was starting. Mare hated to see him like that, it made her feel inadequate as a mother and stupid as a human being. 

“Hey, look. Your mom will be perfectly fine.” Tiberias assured him, looking straight at him with a stern yet kind expression. “I’ll make sure of that. Do you trust me?” 

Shade nodded. His breathing started to return to a normal speed. 

“In turn, I’ll trust you to lead Cori safely to your house. Can you take care of her?” 

“Yes.” He was a little man on a mission. 

“Good. Coriane, go get your shoes and bring mine, please.” 

Cori made a military salute and went back to the creek. Mare hadn’t even realized they were both barefoot. He was wearing a light linen shirt and jeans rolled up to his calves. It made her think of an Anne of Green Gable character.

“We women can take care of ourselves; you know?” She whispered so only he would hear. She was too grateful to instill any real anger into her words. Tiberias had managed to bypass Shade’s anxiety attack with surprising skill. 

“I don’t doubt it for a second. But keep seeing you hurt was going to make things worse for him and ‘helping’ Cori will distract him.” 

She knew that. How did _he_ know that, though? It’s not like he had known her son for that long. 

Cori returned, already wearing her shoes, and gave her dad his pair. The children started walking on Tiberias' suggestion. He quickly put on his shoes while Mare tried to stand like a flamingo, now that she had lost his support. 

“How did you know that would work?” 

“My younger brother used to have episodes like that when we were children. Usually, that’s how I helped him.” He finished tying up his shoelaces and stood up. “Ready?” 

She held on to his shoulder again and mentally prepared herself to limp her way back home. Luckily, they were less than a mile away from Notch street. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. 

Tiberias effortlessly picked her up. Mare yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck on instinct. 

The kids turned around at the sound. Mare waved awkwardly to let them know everything was fine. Their eyes widened before they started discussing something and walking faster. _Weird_. 

“You can put me on the ground now,” she hissed smacking his chest. His toned, solid, chest. Half of her body was pressed against him and his hands were under her legs and on her back and it was too much contact. “I still have a useful, healthy leg.” 

He ignored her and kept walking without so much as a huff. “You would delay us and I don’t want to lose sight of them.” 

Mare rolled her eyes, even though she agreed. “This road is basically straight. I hardly see how they could get lost.” 

“I suspect you’re only saying that to argue.” A crooked smile formed on the side of his face she could see. Her heart skipped a beat and a rush of blood colored her cheeks. 

“I don’t do it on purpose. You’re a naturally disagreeable person.” 

“I am?” His smile widened. “I've met many who would contradict you. Mary, from _‘Bee Happy’_ , for example.” 

At the mention of Mary, she tasted a bitter feeling at the back of her throat that made her grimace slightly. She swallowed it back. 

“Good on you for making friends.” She tried to sound casual about it. 

He let out a short dry laugh. “To be honest, I was trying to text you but her name is right under yours in my contact list. I texted her by mistake.” He glanced at her and saw her confused face. “Remember when I asked you about the fertilizers? That time.” 

“Ok.” _Why did he have her number in the first place?_ She had enough dignity left to keep herself from asking such an irrelevant question. No matter how much it pushed against her lips attempting to get out. 

It was a good thing he felt like giving explanations. “She gave me her number to have honey delivered at home.” 

“Didn’t know that was a service they provided,” Mare muttered. She had always been an aggressive person, but the levels of vexation she was feeling toward that woman bordered on anti-feminist. 

“They don’t,” he chuckled. “I realized that later when she started making _other_ offers.” His shoulders shifted uncomfortably beneath her arms like it wasn’t something he was proud of. 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“Because you told me the other day not to go there anymore.” He said as if it was obvious. “I thought that was the reason. It would raise some suspicions if we are ‘married’ and I’m flirting with another woman.” 

Her heart lurched. She couldn’t pinpoint if it had been in a good or a bad way. When she had advised him to get honey somewhere else, she had been possessed by an unhinged demon of some emotion she wasn’t willing to name. 

A lot of those were building up inside of her lately. Unnamed emotions. One more and she would have to buy a feelings dictionary for children. Or she could just keep ignoring them. Yeah, the latter was the more tempting option. 

“Listen, if you like her you should talk to her, man.” She forced herself to say and the words sounded wrong in her mouth. _She didn’t care_. “If you’re worried about the school finding—” 

“I’m not interested in her, _at all_.” He cut her off. And was it her imagination or he was holding her more firmly against his body now? Her skin tingled with a pleasant thrill, making her forget about the pain from her ankle. 

“That’s too bad. Cori seems hellbent on getting you a girlfriend.” 

He laughed and his chest rumbled with the clear sound. “She was. But, thankfully, she’s been too distracted with schoolwork to try anything.” 

They remained in silence for a while after that. The sound of his steps on the road, his breaths, and the faraway chatter of the kids was a sweet melody. It almost made her want to lean her head on his shoulder... and before she knew it, she was doing just that. 

His flushed skin smelled of pines and smoke, and she let herself breathe in the scent. Letting it fill her lungs like sunlight invading a dark room after all the windows had been opened. 

“Has Shade tried anything like that?” 

She had been so drunk on the moment, his deep voice startled her. 

“You mean trying to get me a boyfriend?” 

“Yes.” His face was oddly neutral. 

“No. His father, if one can call him that... it was never an issue. It’s always been him and me, and adding anyone else would be a foreign concept for him.” 

“He left?” He flinched. “Sorry. You don’t have to answer that.” 

“It’s not a sensitive issue.” She straightened a little, moving away from her comfortable spot on his shoulder to get a better view of his face. “It was a summer fling after high school. A stupid screw-up that resulted in me having a way more difficult and a thousand times happier life.” She was daring him to judge her. He wouldn’t be the first. 

Instead, he smiled in a way that made it clear he understood what she meant. 

“It was kind of like that with Cori’s mom: Thea. A horrible mistake that brought me the light of my life. Funny how that works.” His expression had gone somber when he pronounced the woman’s name. 

“Well, you married her.” Mare tried to reason. “So, at one point she must have been who you wanted. _It’s better to have loved and lost_ and all that.” 

“I wish it had been like that.” He seemed ashamed about what he said next. “I was too young and eager to make my father proud. Our marriage was purely strategic for business between our families. The worst thing is that I was ok with it until Cori was born, and Thea...” his jaw tensed, biting back some old resentment. “Thea didn’t give a shit about her own daughter. Never had and never will. Cori had barely learned how to speak and she kept asking where her mom was. That, until she stopped asking about her altogether. Like she had understood that the woman was merely an acquaintance.” 

Mare glanced at the blonde girl bouncing happily ahead of them. It was physically impossible not to love her. Suddenly, she got the urge to hug her for a million years (and to punch that awful woman). 

“That’s why you moved?” 

“Took me longer than it should have, but yeah. My dad isn’t happy about it. He’s waiting for the auto shop to fail so I drop the childish delusion, that’s what he says anyway.” He shrugged. 

Maybe for him having your family wish your dreams crashed and burned was a normal thing, but for her it was jarring. 

Tiberias’ auto shop, _Burner’s_ , had been in business for little over a month and it was a success. Burner’s specialized in vintage cars and motorbikes restorations. The rich assholes over at Summerton loved to spend their money on things that showed just how wealthy they were. Nothing screamed _‘I have old money and class’_ more than a classic 60’s Ferrari from your granddaddy's personal collection. 

“If all else fails, you can always leave Cori with me and go live under a bridge.” 

His eyes glinted; a grin displayed his white teeth. “Anything to keep from admitting he was right?” 

“Damn right.” 

They laughed and she settled her head on his shoulder again. She told herself it was because she didn’t want to keep her head at a weird angle and end up with a stiff neck later. It had nothing to do with how natural it felt or the way his smell made her think of home. 

~👟~

That night, a knock on her bedroom door made Mare put down the book she’d been reading. 

“Come in.” 

Shade peeked from the open gap hesitantly, looking from her bandaged foot resting atop a pillow to her face. Mare patted the empty space beside her. 

The boy rushed into the bed and curled himself next to her like an armadillo, hiding his face. “I’m sorry, mommy. I’m so sorry.” He sounded miserable. 

Mare reacted instantly by holding him tight against her and lifting his face. “What are you talking about, _mi vida_?” She spoke softly, keeping the worry she felt out of her voice. 

His brown eyes were blurry with tears. “I made you fall and now you’re hurt. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” 

“ _Shush_.” She combed his hair back with her fingers in a soothing motion. “It was an accident and I’m fine. You don’t have to feel bad.” 

“But it wasn’t an accident.” He blinked and a tear spilled over the bridge of his nose and onto the pillow. “I did want you to fall. I didn’t want you to get hurt.” 

“Why did you want me to fall? Was it a prank?” She was surprised by what he said; curious, even. Of course he hadn’t meant any harm. 

“No,” he sighed. “I wanted Cal to take your hand to help you up after you fell.” 

_What?_ Her brow knitted in confusion. 

“And why was that something you wanted?” 

“Because you were so happy the other day when Darcy touched Lizzie’s hand. I thought when Cal touched your hand, you would have your Woman Need.” 

Mare stared at him for a few seconds, remembering Ella had run off at the mouth the other day. When her coworkers had come to dine pasta, drink wine, and complain about work; her innocent son must have overheard and somehow ended up with this crazy interpretation. Butterfly effect. 

She snorted and then she was clutching her stomach laughing. 

“What is so funny?” Shade demanded to know, kneeling next to her, shaking her shoulder. “You’re not mad?” 

She tried to stop and failed for several minutes. By the time she managed to pull herself together, Shade was raising his eyebrows with consternation. 

“I’m not mad, Shade. You really shouldn’t have done that; it was very reckless.” She said sternly, sitting up on the bed. “But I’m not mad. And I’m proud of you for telling me the truth.” 

“Really?” Shade lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her with a relieved grin. “You’re the best mom in the world. I love love love you.” 

Mare hugged him back and laid on the pillow again, kissing his temple. “I love you more.” She squeezed him a bit, making him giggle. 

“Did it work, mommy?” He said after a while, half asleep. 

“Hm?” 

“Did Cal touching your arm complete the Woman Need?” 

She felt a blush scorch her face. From now on, he would be banned from watching romantic films until he was 18. 

“Honey, there isn’t such a thing. Ella was speaking nonsense.” 

“Oh.” He seemed disappointed. 

A _Woman Need_ , she scoffed and tried not to dwell on whose name popped up on her head along with those words. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Mi vida"_ : my life.


	7. Let's play house!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to @rireausoleil on tumblr for getting the Gilbert reference. And Shout out to all of you amazing readers.

_Mr. Calore and Mrs. Barrow:_

_I write to you to inform you of the scheduled house visit to be carried out by the school counselor and myself in the following weeks. It is to be a casual dinner so we get a better idea of the kids learning environment at home. Please reach out to the administration to properly schedule the date and time._

_Sincerely, Sister Wren Skonos._

The argument about what house should they use had lasted exactly 5 minutes. Mare had to swallow her pride and accept her place was too small for anyone to believe four people lived there. Then they had the most awkward trip to the mall, to one of those express photoshoot places so they could actually have pictures of the four of them to hang on the walls. 

The kids had a blast. They were cute and the affection they shared was true and pure. In every picture they smiled, hugged, and even fought over who got to hold a plush toy at some point, completely selling their siblings part. 

Tiberias and her on the other hand… 

Mare had directed a murderous glare at the nosy photographer after the fifth time he told them to relax and just think about how much they loved each other, and to get a little closer- no, closer. _Closer_. 

“Do you want us to make out in front of you as well?” Mare barked and the photographer lifted his palms. 

“Ma’am. I’m just trying not to make you look like you want to get a divorce as soon as you leave.” 

“Stop terrorizing the college kid, _honey_.” Tiberias held her at the waist, standing behind her. He leaned in and whispered against her ear, sending a tsunami of shivers down her spine. “You might make him lose faith in holy marriage before he even gets a chance to lose his acne.” 

Mare chuckled and they were blinded with a flash. 

They decided to use that last picture for the big frame over the fireplace mantel. It was the only one where Tiberias didn’t look like he wanted to run away, neither did Mare look like a potential murderess. 

The Friday evening they scheduled for the visit was the first time Mare walked into enemy territory. 

The house was as big on the inside as it seemed on the outside. It had 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, an office space, a playroom, and a panic room. She hadn’t actually seen that last one, but she was sure there had to be. 

The foyer opened to the right into an elegant living room at the front and a formal dining room at the back. The floor to ceiling windows showed a backyard that wasn’t half as depressing as Mare had thought it would be. A good portion of it had been turned into a garden and the rest was being slowly overtaken by a healthy cushion of clovers. Many small trees were still standing and so was Shade’s sycamore tree. Mare had missed the sight of the tree so much, it took her a minute to register the planks of wood and carpentry tools around it. 

“What are you building? A deck?” Mare teased Tiberias. 

“Not yet. I wanted to make a treehouse for Cori but the engineering aspect of it is harder than I initially thought.” 

That was kind of sweet. It also explained the random noises that had caused her so many headaches during the summer. 

To the other side of the main floor, there was the kitchen and a second, more informal, dining room. And back in the foyer, there were the stairs that led to the rooms. Everything was made of glass, concrete, dark cherrywood, and black marble. The furniture consisted of selected pieces made of leather and metal. It was beautiful in an impersonal sort of way. If it weren’t for the toys and drawings scattered around the otherwise pristine house, one could mistake this for a show home. 

“What do you think?” he asked when the tour was done. 

“You care what I think?” She raised an eyebrow. 

“Maybe.” He said quizzically. Looking away, his eyes landed over one of Cori’s drawings on the freezer. It depicted two women surrounded by hearts; one was a redhead with a big smile, the other was a blonde with a lot of jewelry. 

He cared what she thought? Alright then. She didn’t give a damn about what _he_ thought of her, though. 

“Who are they?” 

His expression turned affectionate. “Friends of the family. You might have heard Cori speak of aunt Eve.” He pointed at the blonde. 

“Yes. She talks so much about her sometimes I forget we haven’t met.” 

“I wasn’t a fan of leaving her at a daycare with some stranger so they helped me raise her.” 

Mare nodded approvingly. 

“Right? I used to leave Shade over at my mom’s. I hated the idea of someone who didn’t understand him looking after him while I was at work. And before that, when I was still in college, he would go with me to lectures.” Mare smirked proudly. “Not to brag, but some of my professors called him their best student.” 

Some others had looked down at her with disdain for being a young single mother, but those assholes weren’t worth a mention. 

Tiberias laugh filled the kitchen like music. “When I showed up to the office with Coriane, people cowered behind their desks. She’s a force of nature.” 

“She is,” she agreed. It was one of Cori’s best attributes. 

They looked into each other’s eyes for a second too long. Both content to find understanding. Mare broke the moment as soon as her heart decided it was time to drum against her ribs like it was a drums solo in a rock concert. 

“Nobody is going to believe I live here. I’ll bring some of Shade’s stuff to stage his room,” she blurted out. “This place needs some life.” She pursed her lips looking around the kitchen, pulling a red bandana from the large front pocket of her overalls and tying her hair back. They had work to do. 

Tiberias took over the cooking, and Mare set to bring some things over from her house, feeling like a traitor for every item she placed in the box. 

“We’ll be back right after the nun leaves,” she said to her orchid. Then she felt stupid for speaking to a plant. 

By the time she was done decorating the house, it actually looked like a place she could inhabit. With indoor plants in every corner and surface, weird cheap art her friends and family had given her as gifts over the years, Shade’s books and trinkets, and other small details that transformed the space. 

The last thing was the family picture from the cringeworthy photoshoot. 

Standing on top of a stool, she hammered a nail into the wall and picked up the picture from the fireplace mantle. As she straightened the frame, looking at the family there struck her chest with a sudden longing. 

It wasn’t real. It was as fake as the pictures that came with new frames. Nonetheless, she felt her insides were being crushed by a hydraulic press, looking at Shade smiling brightly as Cori held his hand. The kids were standing in front of an unrecognizable happy pair. The mom was caught mid-laugh and didn’t have a worry in the world; not when the perfect man standing behind her smiled down at her with adoration as if they had loved each other forever. 

_It wasn’t real._ She repeated to herself, feeling nauseous. What was she playing at? She had to be a masochist because deluding yourself like this was idiotic. 

No. 

This was a necessary evil. It helped her focus and breathe to think about all of the reasons Tiberias, while helpful, was an asshole. The lawn, the car, his privileged ass, his insufferable sense of humor, his damned smile, his shamelessly strong body, his piercing gaze- _wait_. What was she doing? Oh right, the list of reasons why she hated him. _Because she did still hate him._

She turned around to get down from the stool and was startled to find Tiberias staring at her with a dumbstruck expression. If she didn’t know any better, one would think he had her confused for a divine apparition. Again, her pulse kicked up. _This had to be a joke_. What on earth was happening to her these days? 

“You shouldn’t be up there; you’re using a splint.” He crossed the room to get to her and offer her his hand. 

_The Woman Need_. The words floated to her memory as she stared at his big callous hand, long dexterous fingers. She wondered what could he do— _Hell no_. 

She shoved her hands into her pockets. “I’ve been walking all week. A sprained ankle doesn’t turn me into a handicapped.” 

“No, but it does mess up your tendon healing.” 

“Do you have a med school degree hiding somewhere? I did not see it.” 

Tiberias glowered at her, tilting his head to the side as if he was trying to figure her out. “Suit yourself.” He gave up and let his hand drop. 

It felt good to be looking down at him for once. He stood next to her, facing the wall, and pulled a freaking wooden crucifix from his pocket and lifted it to the wall. 

Mare grabbed his wrist to stop him. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

“Same as you. Decorating so we are more believable.” 

“You’re _not_ putting a crucifix on the wall, Tiberias.” They were going to hell for using a religious symbol to further push their dishonest agenda. Also. the idea of even having a symbol like that went against her agnostic principles. 

“I think it’s a good idea.” He stepped to the side, twisting his arm free from her, so he could still place the crucifix next to the family picture but he was far from her reach. 

“It’s a terrible idea! Do you even know _one_ prayer?” Her tone rose with indignation. 

“Does anybody?” He said casually and pulled the protective tape. It was a self-adhesive crucifix. They would know they were lying, for no self-respecting Catholic could ever own such a tacky monstrosity. Her annoyance started to reach boiling point. 

“Yes - they - do!” 

He smirked at her, enjoying riling her up. “Well, we can always repeat whatever sister Skonos says.” He motioned his arm forward. 

_Oh no, he wouldn’t_. Mare jumped like a cat, reaching for the crucifix. Tiberias' eyes went wide open and he turned away from her, but she still managed to land on his back. 

“Gimme that!” She wrapped her legs around his waist and almost got to the offending object, reaching over his shoulder. 

Tiberias twisted and tried to pry her arm off his neck. “It’s just a piece of wood!” 

Mare gasped offended and covered his mouth. “More reason not to hang it then!” She moved her legs to climb up his torso a little and get closer to her goal but Tiberias bent forward and kept his arm stretched out. 

“Would it kill you to- _you're choking me_ ,” he managed to cough and changed his strategy. He tried to unclasp Mare’s legs. 

She whimpered loudly in his ear. “My ankle!” 

“Sorry,” he stopped struggling immediately. Just like Mare knew he would. 

Smirking because her lie had worked, she let her good leg drop, tangled it around Tiberias knee and swiftly pulled it back, making him lose balance. _“Sucker.”_ They tumbled to the floor. Their bodies became a mess of tangled limbs as they rolled on the living room carpet trying to win the upper hand. 

“Stop that!” “You started!” “I’ll tell your daddy you fight women!” “I’ll tell your mother you’re a little gremlin!” 

Mare managed to lock him in place with her knees at his sides, sitting on top of him and pushing him down, placing her hands over his chest. She stared at him with maniac glee because of her victory. 

“I win.” She panted, blowing a lock of brown hair away from her face. “Give me the damn thing.” She moved her body to press down on his chest to emphasize her words. 

“Don’t you mean the _blessed_ thing?” He said trying to catch his breath. He intended to lean on his elbows but she pushed him back down. 

“Shut up. Hand it over, Tiberias.” 

“What if I told you it is a family heirloom and my granny gave it to me?” He pleaded with his golden eyes. 

“Don’t try to use your grandma.” She pressed down again on his chest and he went still as a statue, choking back a pitiful sound at the back of his throat. _Aha!_ she was probably making it hard for him to breathe. She pushed a few times, like he was a CPR practice dummy, to annoy him into giving up. “Don’t be a little bitch and give up with whatever dignity you have left.” 

“Mare,” he pleaded, looking forcefully into the ceiling, the vessels of his neck showing with the effort of _something_. “Please stop doing that.” 

“Why? Is _this_ -” She moved to crush his ribcage once more. “-making your breathing difficult?” She asked with mock concern. 

He hissed through clenched teeth and lifted his head slightly to look at her. Mare almost fell backward with the scalding intensity of his eyes. They had turned into dark pits of fire. “I mean,” he said in a low growl. “Unless you intend for this little wrestling match to take a _very_ different direction. _Stop moving like that_.” 

Without realizing, she had been bouncing _other_ parts of her body against some very sensitive parts of his. Through the layers of clothing, she could feel his reaction to her teasing. Her breath caught in her lungs as a hot wave washed over her and pooled at the bottom of her belly and some inches lower. Her cheeks were burning but she couldn't tear her eyes from his even if she had wanted to. 

_What now?_ An idea (an apocalyptically bad idea) took hold of her hazy thoughts. 

“The only direction-” she rolled her hips slowly, drawing another choked up grunt from him, “-this is going, is you doing as I told you.” 

“Fuck,” his breathing turned erratic as his eyes focused again on the ceiling. He looked as if he was in pain. “You’re filled with evil.” 

“I’m starting to think,” she leaned forward, still rolling her hips against him. The ache she felt herself was nothing compared to the feeling of watching him powerless. “How much I would love to see you beg.” 

His lips opened to form a rebuttal of some sort, guessing by the defiant expression on his face, but a moan left his throat instead when Mare pressed herself harder on him. It was a delicious sound. It made her already muddled thoughts turn into a steaming puddle of nonsense. She wanted to capture the sound with her mouth. 

“Fine! For fuck’s sake.” Tiberias threw away the contended item and it landed a few feet away from them, sliding under an armchair. 

Mare cackled like a villain and moving away from her victim’s body, she threw herself after the crucifix, not wanting to take any chances on him getting it back. 

She crawled on the hardwood floor and reached under the armchair. Suddenly a firm grip took hold of her unharmed ankle and dragged her back. She gasped as a jolt of electricity ran through her body from the contact. Tiberias surrounded her waist with his arm and held her back flush against him. He had her pinned to the ground. His ragged breaths brushed the angle of her neck where he had buried his face like a predator about to take a lethal bite. 

This is what happened when you poked a beast. She wanted to elbow him in the face and then kick him in his manhood. She wanted to rub her thighs together to alleviate the hot ache of her core, but he had put a leg between them. She wanted him to be done with it and do unspeakable things to her in the middle of this living room floor. 

She wanted it all at the same time and now. 

“Why are you so quiet Mrs. Barrow?” he whispered against her skin. “You usually have something clever to say.” 

“And you always have something dumb to say. Let me go.” Her breathy voice was the least intimidating thing in the world. 

“And she delivers,” he chuckled softly and let his fingers caress her tense abdomen. “I wasn’t sure before, but now I am.” His lips grazed the shell of her ear as his low voice rumbled on her back. It took every bit of her will not to arch against him. “You have some sort of personal vendetta against me. What did I do that was so terrible?” 

His hand sneaked under the fabric of her overalls so he could draw lazy circles on her stomach only through the cotton shirt. A pulse of liquid desire made her shiver as she bit her lip. 

“It’s not what you did.” Speaking only exposed how affected she was by him. Heart beating erratically and breathing in gasps. It wasn’t doing her any favors, but she couldn’t let him have the last word. “It’s who you are. We are dif-“ his thumb barely grazed the lower curve of her breast, but it was enough to rip a short moan out of her before she fought against it. “We are different on a fundamental level.” 

“Hmm.” He seemed to be mulling over her words. Apparently pleased with the reaction he had just created, his thumb kept tracing the tortuous curve. 

Too much clothing. Too much of him, his smell, everywhere. She rested her forehead on the cold floor. Too much and not enough. 

“You have exactly three seconds to remove yourself from my presence before I bite your fucking hand off.” She threatened, letting every last drop of the loathing she felt seep into her tone. 

He complied and her skin felt awfully cold. Her body felt so on edge, she wished staying there, lying on the floor like a dead person, was an option. 

Sitting down, slowly taking control of her emotions and her body, she glared at Tiberias. He sat on the rug, resting his elbows on his knees, an indecipherable expression on his face. 

“You’re pretty when you’re mad,” he commented matter-of-factly like he was thinking out loud. 

_Oh God_. Was he trying to get himself murdered? Mare rolled her eyes despite the glitter cannon exploding inside of her. 

“That’s sexist. And I’m always mad when you’re around.” 

“Did I say pretty?” he narrowed his eyes. “Sorry, I meant strong, independent, and extremely beautiful.” 

A punch to her jaw would’ve shocked her less. She tried. She really tried to keep her frown in place, but a snort escaped her and she had to cover her mouth. 

“Go back to the kitchen, Tiberias.” She rose to her feet and put her no-nonsense mask back on. “We have an audience to deceive tonight.” 

He smirked like the asshole he was as he walked past her to the dining room. “Yes, of course, my dearest wife.” 

Yup, he was trying to get himself killed… and kill her in the process. 


	8. Hot dinner, cold dessert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back to our regularly scheduled idiots in denial!

Mare felt sick. 

She felt her insides had been put into a blender along with a full bottle of wine, shards of glass, and a gallon of lava blended for a week and returned to her body in a single gulp. Repulsive, confusing, and weakening. 

When her hand made its way down to the ache she couldn’t shake off while she took a shower, she rationalized it was only to get over the lingering sensation from her earlier conversation with him. She was using one of the many bathrooms in his house, not the one from his bedroom, but it was so easy to imagine him showering here. 

No matter how many times she banished the image of his drenched wet body from her mind, it was still what she saw as she _took care of herself_... so to speak.

Then she would pretend nothing of the sort had ever happened. For now, she just felt blissfully relaxed like she had purged him from her body. That was a disgusting way to put it. Although, it was accurate to relate the word _Disgusting_ to Tiberias somehow, so she felt at peace. 

A light blue flowery dress with loose sleeves, one of Gisa’s creations from her boutique at Summerton, and a pair of ballerina flats waited for her on top of the bed in the guest room. 

She had to be on her best behavior tonight. This had been her idea after all. 

It was easy to get lost in this maze of a house, so she followed the sound of Cori’s loud protests in the adjacent hallway hoping it would lead her back to the stairs. 

“No, daddy. You’re not wearing a dress.” She tugged at her father’s button-up and pointed accusingly at Shade, who was playing inside her room, focused on playing with the dolls in Cori’s unnecessarily big dollhouse. “He is not wearing a dress. I want pants too!” She climbed to the bed behind her and crossed her arms, flushed cheeks and defiance to start a revolution even in her fluffy pink bathrobe. 

They seemed to have been at this for quite some time because Tiberias was crouching with the rejected outfit draped over his knee. He sighed, lifting his gaze to the ceiling. 

“Fine. Aunt Elane will be very sad you didn’t wear the dress she sent you, Coriane.” He rose to his feet with an uncharacteristic stern expression set on his masculine features. 

Cori smirked, watching her defeated dad walk back to her closet, and had the audacity to shrug. “She isn’t here to be sad about it.” 

Mare, who was leaning on the doorframe witnessing the exchange, covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Was it wrong to mock a man’s lack of authority in his own house? Yes. Did she care? No. 

Father and daughter both turned in her direction. 

Cori gasped and jumped down from the bed, bright-eyed and looking at her like she was the shiniest toy in the toy aisle. “Wow wow wowsers,” she took the soft fabric of her dress in her chubby hands, looking from it to her face with pure adoration. “You are a princess.” 

Not to be cheesy, but she felt her heart grow three sizes inside her chest. What did she have to be so freaking cute for? 

“Thank you.” She lifted her gaze only to find a similar pair of bronze eyes staring at her not so different than Cori's, loaded with an extra dose of butterflies-in-the-stomach inducing intensity. She hated it. “It’s just a dress,” she blurted out suddenly wishing she’d worn her shapeless work coveralls instead. 

“You look b-” he started to say softly enough for her to pretend she hadn’t heard. 

“So, Cori.” She chirped too loudly, lifted the kid, and placed her back on the bed. “What outfit are you dazzling us with for this special occasion?” 

“A dress, of course. Daddy, give me the one with strawberries.” She extended her hand demandingly. 

“You mean this one?” Tiberias appeared next to her with the same dress he’d been trying to get her to wear a second ago. 

“Yes!” She ripped it from his hand. He gave her a look that indicated she was forgetting something. “Oh right. Thank you!” she blew a kiss in his direction. 

“I can help her.” Mare offered quickly, looking at her shoes instead of his eyes. “You should go downstairs with Shade. Go over the details.” 

He silently agreed and left with Shade in tow, who asked to take a few dolls because he refused to leave unfinished the story he was creating. 

Mare helped the child dry her hair and put on the dress. They sat in front of the vanity as Mare brushed her blond hair. They had been practicing the story the kids had to tell for several days, but a last-minute revision couldn’t hurt. 

“And if they ask when we moved here, you say during summer, no need to get into details.” She left the hairbrush on the table. “How do you want me to do your hair?” 

“Mmm.” she considered it, swinging her feet hanging from the bench, pursing her lips. “What are _you_ going to do with your hair?” 

Looking at her brown hair falling in careless waves over her shoulders, she thought maybe she’d neglected it a little. She took a pair of bobby pins from Cori’s vanity and secured the sides so they wouldn’t fall over her face. “What do you think?” 

Cori beamed at her reflection and pointed at it. “I want that too.” 

_Thank God_. If she had asked for something complicated, like a crown braid, she would have had to look up a tutorial on YouTube, and that hadn’t turned out so well last time. 

“Moms and little girls have to look alike,” she said like she was confessing a secret, lowering her long lashes. “And you’re the prettiest, kindest mom in the world, so I want to be like you.” When she looked up, her eyes were wide and hopeful and they riddled Mare with guilt. 

“Cori.” She spoke with the utmost care like she was holding a fragile bird, and took her shoulders, making her turn on the bench so they were facing each other. “Remember this is all pretend.” Her voice wavered. 

“I know that. But isn’t it fun?” Cori kneeled on the bench to be at eye level. “Do you like pretending to be my mom? You can brush my hair, or give me pie and lemonade, or help me get down from the trees!” 

Mare exhaled a soft laugh remembering how the girl liked to climb after Shade even if she didn’t know how to get down. It had been a recurring struggle during summer, with her having to run to the kid’s aid at the most random times. 

Cori started playing with strands of Mare’s hair, suddenly obsessed with it. “You already do all that. The only difference is that now I can call you mom and you can pretend that you love me a little bit.” She pinched her thumb and forefinger in front of her face to show her the amount she meant. “I’ll be a good daughter, I promise.” 

She didn’t even have to think about it. Loving her had been as unavoidable and easy as walking under a sun shower. There was no version of her reality right now where Cori wasn’t included. It was a big realization to be having on a Friday, in the middle of a bedroom painted with too much pastel colors, yet here she was. 

“I don’t have to pretend to love you.” She opened up her arms as wide as she could. “I already love you _this_ much. And more, but I have short arms.” 

Cori laughed and threw her arms around her neck. Mare hugged her back tightly. She was so tiny and full of love for life, Mare’s chest ached with overwhelming emotions. Just like with Shade, she couldn’t protect them from the world. 

_She couldn’t shield them from the harm this lie may cause._

A knock on the door. Shade opened after Mare told him to. 

Bouncing excitedly, he motioned for them to come out. 

“They are here.” 

~🍽️~

“And here they are,” Tiberias smiled at them as they went down the stairs and into the foyer. Two people were with him. One was Sister Skonos with her usual peaceful expression as she surveyed the house. She was also Cori’s teacher, and the kid said she hadn’t seen her angry even once. Though, to be fair, elementary school teachers had to be certified saints. 

The other was the school’s counselor. A handsome man with a bright movie star smile and midnight dark skin. 

“Hi, sorry to keep you waiting.” Mare greeted them and they shook hands. “I’m Mare. You know Coriane and Shade already.” 

“Yes.Carmadon Davidson, pleased to meet you. And it is we who are running a little late.” His charming tone was as pleasant as he seemed. “I’m afraid I got distracted with the lovely garden across the street.” 

She stopped herself from opening her mouth, on the verge of thanking him for the compliment. It was a compliment to a neighbor’s house, not hers. _This_ was her house as far as they were concerned. 

This was going to be a long night. 

“Davidson,” Tiberias said pensively. He was closing the coat closet next to the door after having placed the visitor’s coats there. “It rings a bell.” 

“You may have seen my dashing husband on the news a few times,” Carmadon seemed happy to get to mention it. “He works at the town hall.” 

Of course. Mare had not only seen him but heard about him too from Farley. 

“My sister-in-law works there as well. She speaks wonders of him.” 

“Then we’re off to a great start.” 

They all laughed and she felt a bit of the tension dissipate from the air. They could do this. 

They took a quick tour around the house and Mare could see Sister Skonos, who’d insisted on being called her Wren, taking mental notes of the technical aspects of a ‘home learning environment’, while Carmadon paid more attention to the family dynamic. A double test. 

“I must admit, this was the visit I was looking forward to the most,” Carmadon said as they waited in the top floor hallway, while Cori showed her desk under the window to her teacher. 

Tiberias and Mare shared a quizzical look. 

“Blonos told me of the little mishap the interview day. Your story was very interesting, to put it mildly. A wedding in Italy?” 

Was that skepticism she heard from him? Her stomach started to turn uncomfortably. 

“I’m a romantic,” he went on, shrugging with an easy smile. “I love that kind of stuff.” 

The way they both sagged with relief almost threw her into a fit of laughter. 

“How are the children acclimatizing to the change?” 

Hearing he was being indirectly addressed, Shade tightened his grip on her hand and stepped behind Tiberias. 

“Great! Sorry, he isn’t usually like this,” she rushed to excuse him. “Shade gets shy when meeting new people. 

“Being an introvert isn’t a character flaw,” he corrected her kindly. “No need to apologize for it.” 

While she wouldn’t say lying was turning out to be easy, it wasn’t half as hard as she had expected. They had really gotten into character. They already knew Wren, she was the unknowing creator of this plan, and the counselor was a naturally friendly person. 

She found herself forgetting the hundreds of ways this could go wrong. Tiberias played his part a little too well and brushed his hand against her back as they walked, or gently rubbed her shoulder when he spoke of her. It made her nervous system overload like a malfunctioning fuse box. Your husband’s touch wasn’t supposed to feel like so much after all that time together. Right? It’s not like she could ask Farley if Shade’s touch turned her knees to Jell-o after years of marriage. Reason number one being: their plan was a secret. Reason number two: it was _Farley_. 

When they sat around the table to eat the vegetarian lasagna Tiberias had prepared, Mare was glad the worst part of the night was over. Surely the food would distract them enough to keep the visitors from asking too many questions. 

Wren, Carmadon, and Tiberias sat on one side of the long table, that way he was closer to the kitchen. Mare chose a chair between the children, on the other side, to help them with the food should they needed it. 

“It smells wonderful, and I’m a bit of a chef myself so I would know.” Carmadon winked and Tiberias grinned like a petted puppy. 

Maybe he had a thing about praise and approval. She filed that knowledge for later. 

“Bon Appetit.” 

“Wait!” Cori held her palm up and the forks around the table froze halfway to the lasagna. “We should pray first.” 

“You don’t have to if you don’t feel like it, Cori,” Wren laughed, but the kid was already joining her hands and looking at them with an authoritative glare that left no room for arguing. 

“We have to be grateful to the Lord.” She firmly shut her eyes. 

Mare shared an amused glance with Tiberias after everyone else lowered their heads in reverence, before closing her eyes. 

“Hi God, it’s me, Coriane,” she started like she was talking to an old friend. “I want to thank you for our guests tonight. Thank you for Miss Wren being so patient and a good teacher. Thank you for Carmadon, who I don’t know that well, but I’m sure we’ll be great friends. Thank you for Shade being the best big brother and Mare being the bestest mom.” Ok, this was an endearing- long prayer. 

“Thank you for dad, because you finally gave him a girlfriend— I mean wife.” Her eyes shot to Cori at the same time the girl flinched from her slip. Yet she persevered. “And now that I mention it. Please, amazing, powerful, God, if you want to send a baby sister to mom’s belly, I would really appreciate it.” 

_A BABY?_ Mare’s eyes opened so wide they could have popped from the sockets and rolled next to the lukewarm lasagna. 

The little delinquent was smirking now, eyes still closed. Mare wanted to cover her mouth to stop her. 

“Anyways, we’ll talk some other time, dear God. Bless this food, amen.” She looked pretty satisfied with her prayer. 

Tiberias was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from either grimacing or grinning. Who knew. “Amen. Dig in.” 

“That was a beautiful prayer,” Wren nodded encouragingly. 

_No, it wasn’t_. Mare stuffed her mouth with lasagna and the fantastic flavor calmed temper. 

“It is quite the topic,” Carmadon remarked, interested in the new subject. “Have you discussed it?” 

People didn’t get married without discussing potential children beforehand. Not sane people at least. 

Her hands started to sweat. 

“I always wanted to have enough children to organize a mini-football team,” Tiberias joked and avoided the question at the same time. Brilliant. 

She followed his example. 

“Being the fourth out of five siblings, I always thought low even numbers were ideal. It is all about the compromise, isn’t it?” 

“Indeed. How boring things would be if we chose to be with someone who agrees on everything. Differences strengthen the couple.” 

Tiberias raised his glass toward her in a toast. “And we have a lot of those. Don’t we, dear?” 

_We are different on a fundamental level,_ she’d said a few hours ago. Was he thinking of that? He probably was. Whenever they agreed on something, it was a miracle. And Carmadon was trying to make it sound like a good thing. 

“Like day and night,” she agreed. This one time she did. 

~🍽️~

“This is going well,” Tiberias whispered as they served the desserts in the kitchen. 

It was. The night was almost over. 

“Yes, and the lasagna was amazing. That did half the job.” She put a generous portion of tiramisu on a plate. 

“Are you-” he placed a hand over his heart, “are you giving me a compliment?” 

Mare scowled, lifting her chin. “Don’t get used to it.” 

He smiled warmly at her across the island, then his eyes drifted to the side of her face and he narrowed his eyes. 

“You have sauce on your face.” He tapped his jaw with a finger. 

Cori had been splashing sauce until Mare had helped her cut the lasagna. At least the dress was unharmed. 

She sighed and took a kitchen towel to her cheek. “I’m a messy eater.” 

“No, the other side.” He indicated. “Lower. A bit further back.” 

“Can’t you help me?” she said harshly but added a softer. “Please?” 

Tiberias chuckled and went around the island, taking the towel from her hand. “Yes, ma’am.” 

He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her face up. She went into cardiac arrest as soon as her skin felt the jolt of electricity from his touch. _Shit_. She should have just gone to the powder room and used the mirror. 

“So... no more children in your future.” He tried to sound nonchalant. Why the hell was his voice so strained? He wiped the spot right above the angle on her jaw and Mare could feel blood traitorously rushing to color her cheeks, and he was close enough to see it. She kept her eyes locked on his shoulder. 

Wait. He’d said something. She should answer. 

“To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought.” Shrugging, she hid her lack of breath with a pause. “Still, one more and it wouldn’t be an even number anymore.” 

“What?” He squinted his eyes like she’d told him the earth was flat. “2 is an even number.” 

“Two?” Now she was confused and did look at him as she explained. “Shade, Cori, plus another baby. Three.” 

The hand with the towel stilled on her face as if the air had been sucked from the room. 

_Why – did – she – say - that?_

“I mean, you’re talking about our parallel life- _not real_ \- marriage, right? I thought that’s what you were talking about,” she spoke so fast the words tumbled one over the other. 

He examined her face for a long moment before nodding slowly. Her heart was beating like a crazed maniac trying to escape its bony prison. She hoped and prayed he couldn’t hear it as loudly as she felt it. 

“Right,” he cleared his throat and went back to cleaning the sauce droplets. How much sauce did she have on her? “And in the hypothetical marriage, you wouldn’t want more children.” It wasn’t a question. 

“And you want like a million babies,” she mocked him, poking him on the ribs. 

“One more baby would be enough. That way we could be a basketball team.” He explained pretending to be deadly serious. Then he smiled and threw the towel over his shoulder, without moving away an inch. “But you would have the final word on the subject.” 

“Seriously?” She cocked an eyebrow. “No trying to sweet talk me into it?” 

Uh. That was disappointing. In the pretend marriage, of course. Not that she was starting to think of how cute babies were, and how the four of them would look pushing a stroller down Notch street. Or how he would do the cringey over-enthusiastic white parent thing and make custom _‘Calore - Barrow Team’_ basketball shirts. 

“No. Your body, your choice.” He declared with conviction, until he saw something in her face that made him look suddenly lost. “Unless... you wanted me to? Hypothetically speaking.” 

Would the hypothetical baby look like her or like him? Tiberias wasn’t that terrible looking. Ok, he was gorgeous, she was willing to admit it. His eyes were major assets of course, deep and intoxicating even though he was probably thinking whatever stupid thing men thought about. His nose was perfect, straight like a Greek god statue’s, so that wouldn’t be too bad. 

And his mouth. Plush shapely lips slightly parted, slowly tilting up in a smirk. What was he smirking about? 

Without realizing, she'd started biting her lower lip. _Damnit._ Mare wanted to kick herself in the face. 

“You couldn’t convince a drowning man to take your hand,” she said abruptly and twisted away from him, going to get the platter with the desserts. 

She had _not_ been caught staring at his lips. 

Tiberias laughed heartily as she practically ran back to the dining room. The asshole was still chuckling as he settled back on the table, where the guests and the children had been chatting. 

“What are you laughing about?” Shade wanted to know. He looked more relaxed now that he’d gotten to know the adults a bit more. 

“Your mom is very funny, that’s all,” Tiberias replied, cheerful, as he poured more wine in Carmadon’s glass. 

“Laughter is a sign of a happy, healthy house,” Wren approved and took the small plate Mare was offering her. 

“This house is always happy,” Cori said proudly and all of the heads turned in her direction. “Me and Shade play a lot of fun games.” Waving her spoon in the air, she continued. “Mom and Dad play too! Before you two came, they were wrestling in the living room. It looked fun!” Mare choked on her wine. “Mom was on top, so I think she was winning but Shade called me up to help him clean up his room.” She pouted but recovered quickly and asked with eyes sparkling with excitement. “Who won the game, daddy?” 

This was it. This is how she died. Red like a tomato and stabbing her own throat with a broken bottle of wine. To her dismay, Tiberias, who’d always displayed a fantastic ability to keep a cool head, looked just as willing to jump in front of a moving train, blushed all the way to his ears. 

Sister Wren’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she blinked several times and took a calculated bite of her dessert. 

Carmadon, on the other hand, looked at his glass like it had told him a joke. 

“We weren’t playing any game.” Tiberias found his voice. “We dropped granny’s crucifix and we were trying to get it from under the couch.” 

“A family heirloom,” Mare added looking at Wren, begging to God she wouldn’t think of them as depraved people. 

“Speaking of family heirlooms, is this a family recipe? It’s simply delicious,” Carmadon cut in, pointing at the tiramisu with his spoon. 

“Yes!” Tiberias was beyond happy changing the subject. “The secret is choosing the right mascarpone. I can tell you where I got this one.” 

With the new subject and Cori entertained by eating her dessert, Mare allowed herself to breathe.

Shade was giving her a _look_. Though, she would not risk asking him what was he thinking and get a second awkward moment in the night. She would ask him later. 

By the grace of every saint in the book, dinner ended without another incident. 

The children didn’t want to let Wren go when they had discovered she could jump the rope like a pro, and Carmadon gave the married couple his professional feedback. 

“I think it’s wonderful how Coriane already considers you a maternal figure, and the same goes for you Tiberias.” They stood around the living room as they waited for the cab to arrive. “For a kid like Shade, who displays a rather insulated character, to seek you for comfort; it shows you’ve done a great job of building a relationship with him.” 

Her chest swelled with pride. 

Hearing that made her see Tiberias differently. A shift in the light, a small treasure discovered without looking for it. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all... maybe he wasn’t bad at all. The restless thing that had begun to inhabit her heart the moment she’d met him, started to take shape and it was something to cherish, something that made her feel warm and cozy. 

Carmadon interrupted her train of thought with a pointed expression as he lowered his voice to speak. 

“Although, for the future, it would be better to keep some games in the privacy of the room when the kids are at home.” He raised his hand to stop them from speaking. “No need to explain. I was young once too.” 

Mare wished once again for the floor to swallow her. 

The doorbell rang and she took the opening. 

“I’ll get the door. It must be the cab.” 

Happy to leave them behind, she went to the foyer and threw the door open. 

She froze. Ice filled her veins and whipped the smile from her face. 

This was the second time she opened the door expecting someone and finding a completely different person behind. Except, this time, she did know the man standing there. 

She saw his unfeeling black eyes in her worst nightmares. She remembered his platinum blonde head turning away from them after his daddy’s lawyers had bribed them in a situation her family had no other choice. How could she forget the man that had almost killed her brother in that terrible accident years ago? 

Seething, she tried to pry her jaw open and scream at him from the top of her lungs to leave if he wanted to live, but it was impossible to move as the ice turned into righteous anger. 

He looked at her with a bored, confused expression. 

“Is this Cal’s house?” 

“You,” she hissed. 

Several footsteps arrived to the foyer and the man lifted his black gaze from her to whoever was behind her. 

“Oh, hey man. I thought I had the wrong house for a second.” 

Mare looked from one to the other. This had to be a nightmare. _Please, please, don’t tell me they know each other_. 

Carmadon was there too, looking at the scene, knitting his brow, either confused or suspicious. Neither option was good. 

“Hey Ptolemus,” Tiberias smiled in a way that left no room for doubt. _They were friends_. “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” 

“Early flight.” He sidestepped Mare and entered the house uninvited. “Who are these people?” He asked rudely tilting his head in her direction like he was talking about a stray dog. “Who is she?” 

Great. They were fucked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ptolemus "I am here to ruin everything" Samos muahaha


	9. Claws out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for being the best of the best and leaving comments, likes, kudos on here and on Tumblr 😭. It means the world to me.  
> Give me a minute to address the conspiracy theorists from the last chapter, I was dying reading your theories lmao. As much as I loved reading them, this isn't a "Who's the father?" fic guys. I honestly didn't think it would matter.   
> Shade's father is literally a random hot guy, a John Doe... SORRY

Every season was rain season in The Stilts, but the winter months weather was especially ruthless. Never cold enough for snow, yet cold enough to form deathly frozen puddles in the streets. 

“I told you we shouldn’t have gone out tonight,” Mare said looking out the pizza place window as the sky fell apart in curtains of rain. 

“Oh relax. It’ll stop eventually.” Kilorn ate half a slice in a single bite. “You used to be so much adventurous.” 

“You think? Uh,” She leaned back on the booth so her prominent 34 weeks pregnant belly showed. “I wonder what changed?” And to further demonstrate her point, she absentmindedly placed a hand over her belly. 

Kilorn choked on his bite and laughed with his mouth full. Always such a gentleman. 

“Isn’t the baby swimming in his own amniotic jacuzzi? I don’t think he’ll mind the water.” 

“You’re a dumbass,” Mare sighed shaking her head, and grabbed her phone from the table to check the hour. 

10.36 PM. 

They would have to leave even if the rain didn’t stop because she had classes tomorrow. Both of them did. 

Something about seeing his best friend get her life together and go to college all while baking a mini human inside of her had inspired Kilorn into doing just that. He had finally signed up for night school to get his diploma. He’d dropped out in grade 10 when working and studying became too tiring. 

They agreed to wait ten more minutes for the downpour to recede, and if it didn’t, they would have to punish their wallets and get a cab. Luckily for them, it stopped. 

Kilorn’s phone rang inside his jacket as they walked down the dimly lit streets. When he pulled it out, he showed her it was Farley calling. That was odd. They barely knew each other through Shade. 

“Shit, I forgot to tell you.” He explained quickly before picking up. “I invited them to the pizza place. They were in the area.” 

By them, he meant Shade and Farley. The Lakelander girl was Shade’s TA this semester and he had a huge one-sided crush on her. Mare felt sorry for her brother, there was no way a girl like that would ever date him. _Democracy_ was the love of Farley’s life and she was in a monogamous relationship with it. 

“Hey! We already left but if you want-” Kilorn started with his usual friendly demeanor but stopped abruptly as his smile fell like he’d been punched in the gut. He listened to whatever he was hearing on the line. It filled Mare with dread. 

“Yeah. She’s with me,” he said looking at her with a furrowed brow. 

She would not stand around and hear them talk about her like she was a kid who needed protection. Something bad had happened, she could feel it in her bones. Ripping the phone off her friend’s hand she spoke to Farley. 

“It’s Mare. Tell me what happened.” 

“Hi. I- I don’t think- I didn’t know who else to call a-and you guys were near.” Hearing Farley, always so sure of herself and great with speeches, sob the words out was like watching a monument collapse. 

“Tell me where you are,” her words were muffled and faraway even to her own ears. 

The crash was a few blocks away. The blinding blinking lights of the ambulance and the firetruck would have alerted them of the location even if Farley hadn’t called. 

There was Farley, being dragged away by a paramedic from a vehicle so wrecked it was almost unrecognizable. She struggled against them, telling them over and over again, _“don’t let him die”_. Blood flowed from the open wounds on her face, sticking her blond hair to her tear-stained cheeks. 

Mare was incapable of emotion, or even of fully processing what her senses told her as she approached the scene in a trancelike state. She was a doll stuffed with cotton, suffocating, moving by strings of instinct. 

The car she distantly recognized as her brother’s because of the door painted a different color. A blue car with a yellow door. A yellow door that had to be ripped away so the firefighters could pull out someone from the wreck. 

That wasn’t her brother. That wasn’t her goofy handsome Shade. There was no way. It just wasn’t him. I couldn’t be. 

Shade was her rock, her confidant, a pain in the ass, her favorite sibling. Not that shapeless bloodied face and inert body. He was wearing the boots she’d bought him for Christmas. 

She felt her soul had been thrown to the maw of rabid dogs, all at once and incapacitating. Her ears buzzed and her own scarf was choking her. 

Her eyes shot to the other car on the street. A silver Lamborghini, bright like a polished knife. Its hood was ruined but it was nothing compared to the side of Shade’s car. 

Anger blinded her as her eyes narrowed in on the driver of that car, barely scratched, eyes unfocused, the tip of his nose red as he wobbled to the side and the paramedic sitting with him helped him remain in a sitting position. _He was drunk_. 

Mare tried to run to the drunk man and kill him. She would have killed him, pregnant and all, if Kilorn hadn’t stopped her. Then it all became a blur. 

She started screaming. A paramedic tried to calm her down. Shade’s stretch was on the ambulance. She was on the inside of a moving ambulance and his hand was eerily grey under hers. 

~🐾~🐾~

She’d only seen the drunk driver again when the deal was settled and he paid the Barrows a fortune so they wouldn’t take him to court. What other choice did they have? Shade could still be saved with that money, so they accepted the deal. And she never again saw him in real life. Only in nightmares. 

Until now. 

“I’m surprised Eve didn’t tell you,” Tiberias placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and looked straight into his eyes as he lied as if their lives depended on it. “While you were away hitchhiking through Asia, I got married! You remember Mare, right? I introduced you guys last year when we started dating.” 

Mare’s dinner started to dangerously make its way back to her mouth. The seconds stretched into eternity, waiting for Ptolemus to be their death sentence or put two and two together inside that pea brain of his, and then. 

“Oh, right,” Ptolemus twisted to look at her and she had to physically stop herself from throwing up all over his shoes. “Elane’s birthday. I remember now.” He lied unpassionately, tilting his lips in a polite smile. 

“You probably were drunk,” she couldn’t hold back from stabbing him with the last word. “No big deal.” 

His face turned into an icy sneer and Tiberias looked horrified. 

“No, dear. It was probably the bad lighting.” His forehead was shining with a fresh layer of sweat, like a man balancing too many plates on sticks. “Ptolemus has been clean for five years.” 

“ _Seven_ ,” he corrected Tiberias sharply. 

_Seven. Sobered up right after almost murdering two innocent people_ , she wanted to scream and claw the skin of his petulant face. 

“Uncle Tolly!” Cori bolted into his arms and he lifted her easily. 

“There’s my princess,” his smile was genuine this time. It made him resemble a human being. “Look how tall you’re. Almost as tall as me, eh?” He pinched her cheek and Cori giggled. 

Carmadon had been there the entire time, observing with his clinical eye, arms folded behind his back. 

Mare gave Tiberias a meaningful eyebrow lift. 

“How rude of me,” he complied tugging at his collar, overheated by the stressful situation. “Ptolemus, this is Carmadon, the counselor from Cori’s new school.” 

The two men shook hands. Cori was still in Ptolemus arms and Mare didn’t like it one bit. 

“Saint Victoria Academy, yes?” Ptolemus said before letting go of the man’s hand. 

An inquiring shadow crossed the counselor’s features and his eyes shot to Mare for a fraction of a second, then his gracious Hollywood star smile returned to his face. God knew what the man was thinking. 

“Yes. I see you keep tabs on your niece.” 

Ptolemus nodded as Cori rested her tiny head on his shoulder. “We were devastated when this one-” he pointed at Tiberias with his chin “-decided to move from Archeon.” 

“Well, all is fair in love,” Carmadon said looking amused. 

Mare immediately knew what had happened, as Ptolemus took the bait. Not with his words, because he answered correctly, but with his obvious startled reaction. It took him a beat too long to form a reply. 

“It was only natural for him to move to his wife’s hometown, of course.” 

Wren arrived slightly blushed, from rope skipping with the kids, and rearranging her white veil. “Is the cab here already?” she asked quietly, unaware of the ten layers of tension hanging in the air. Then she noticed the new visitor. “Excuse me but, who are you?” 

Ptolemus had been staring at her with a laser focus since she’d appeared, not even noticing Shade. “I’m Cori’s uncle.” He took her hand and bowed in a bastardized version of an old-fashioned greeting. “You can call me Ptolemus, Tolly, any way you want, really.” His mouth formed a dashing grin dedicated to her alone. 

Mare had to pick up her jaw from the floor. Was he flirting with a nun? 

“I’m Cori and Shade’s teacher,” she answered sweetly, immune to whatever the fuck _uncle Tolly_ was doing. “Wren.” 

“Nice to meet you. I wish my teachers had been half as pretty as you.” 

He _was_ flirting with a nun! This guy’s moral depravity had no limits. 

Sister Wren’s lashes fluttered like a pair of butterflies about to take flight. 

The cab pulled up on the street with a honk, and Mare thanked the heavens for the timing. 

The kids said their goodbyes to the guests and Tiberias excused himself to help Ptolemus to the guest bedroom. That left Mare to walk them to the cab with a last-ditch effort to salvage their impression of them. 

“We’re still getting accustomed to some things, I promise-” 

Carmadon had had a sly expression for a while now. He raised his hand and batted her words from the air like flies. 

“It was one of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time. These things are always so stiff and predictable.” His shoulders hiccupped in a silent laugh. “Tonight was a treat and I can’t wait to hear more from the two of you, as I’m sure will happen often.” 

That didn’t sound bad... nor good. 

“So... we passed?” 

This time he laughed out loud. He opened the door for Wren but lingered on the sidewalk to tell her in a complicit tone. 

“Yes, with honors. Although, not the way you think.” 

_Ominous_. She shifted on her feet. 

“Tolly,” he said like the nickname was funny (it was), “a caring uncle who remembers the name of the establishment his niece goes to but forgets his close friend got married. Such a modern house, filled with exquisite wildflowers. You’re lucky your neighbor is kind enough to give you that many from their own garden.” He gave her a pointed look. “Don’t forget to thank them. Good evening Mrs. Barrow.” 

Carmadon Sherlock Freaking Holmes got on the car and it disappeared down the hill as she stood there, open-mouthed and feeling the dumbest person on the planet. 

He hadn’t given her the impression that he would rat them out or what exactly he had deduced, although one thing was clear: he knew their marriage was fake. And she couldn’t even blame the last-minute visitor, for the counselor had realized something was off the second he had walked into the house and seen all of her flowers. 

Mare heaved a long weary sigh and rubbed her face. She had no energy left to try and figure out what this implied for them if it implied anything at all. 

She couldn’t risk getting all of the flowers back and running into Tiberias’ _friend_ , so she only picked up the orchid she’d promised to get back home and took a very sleepy Shade’s wrist as she unceremoniously crossed the street. Back to the safety of her home feeling a thousand years had passed since that afternoon. 

“Mare, wait!” Tiberias called after her before she closed the front door. 

She inwardly groaned and rolled her eyes. She really didn’t want to do this now. 

“Put her back in the living room,” she gave the orchid to Shade. “Brush your teeth and go to bed. I’ll be there in a minute.” 

He nodded, his lids already dropping, and Mare closed the door as she planted her feet on the porch. 

Tiberias was beaming like an idiot as he jumped up the steps. 

“Excellent teamwork,” he raised his palm for a high five. She left him hanging and that’s how he knew something was up. 

“He figured out we were lying, so not that excellent. You know?” She smiled sarcastically, crossing her arms in front of her chest. 

He paled under the dim porch lantern and let his rejected hand fall to the side. 

“Shit. What happened?” 

Despite being exhausted, her anger sparked whatever energy she had left in her system. 

“Maybe if your friend hadn’t shown up and started acting like a grade-A asshole.” It wasn’t entirely inaccurate to place all of the blame on him. 

“I agree he wasn’t the most appropriate, but-” he lifted his palms placatingly. 

“He was beyond inappropriate. He was trying to seduce a nun, Tiberias!” 

She knew he hated when he called him Tiberias, but hearing it after a whole evening of... whatever that had been, flipped a switch in him too. She saw it in the way his posture turned stiff and his bronze eyes solidified like a lake freezing over. 

“If we’re talking inappropriate, our hands aren’t exactly clean, miss pro-wrestler.” Mare gasped as he continued with the rant. “Maybe what gave it away was your rude outburst when you saw him.” 

“I’ll show you an outburst alright,” she stepped forward, her tone and indignation increasing with every word. “That imbecile shows up acting like he owns the place and treats me like I’m your cleaning lady, without as much as a hello and you think I was the rude one?” 

“Not hard to guess, since your temper is always one degree away from blowing up!” 

Mare flinched away like she’d been spit. 

“And you think you’re much better?” She was practically screaming. Her head was pounding with a migraine and enraged chaotic thoughts. “You may fool everyone with your golden boy act but I see you squirming, insecure, daddy’s boy ass and it’s _pitiful_ ,” she spat back. “You try so hard to please everyone. At least I am who I am with everyone.” 

His face contorted into a hurt expression like a kicked puppy. 

“Thank you for your honesty.” He rasped, starting to back away. “A rarity coming from you.” 

What was that supposed to mean? Her breathing came in heavy pants as if she’d finished running a marathon. 

“You’re welcome. Now get off my property.” 

He was already halfway down the porch steps. 

“By the way, I came to tell you Coriane said good night.” He threw over his shoulder as he walked through the garden. 

_That was low_. With shaking hands, she opened the door and went inside her house. The only place in the world untainted by his presence. 

Then she did something she hadn’t done since high school. After shutting her bedroom door quietly, she screamed into her pillow until her throat was hoarse. 

In the bathroom, she braided her hair, brushed her teeth, and sitting on the edge of the bathtub, unwrapped the bandage from her ankle. It was very swollen, she would have to put some ice, take a Tylenol- shit, she couldn’t take one because she’d been drinking wine. Overcome with exhaustion and frustration, a wave of tears prickled at the back of her eyes demanding to be shed. 

“Fucking Tiberias,” she sighed and sniffed, pressing the heels of her palms on her eyes. She refused to cry over such a stupid argument. 

Still, she knew the argument was part of it. She was sad, or more like disappointed about finding out he was close friends with a horrible human being. _‘You’re the company you keep’_. And what if he had some horrible sin buried under piles of money himself? These people weren’t like her, for all she knew they might vote for the conservative party. And to think... to think that she’d believed she liked him for a minute right before Ptolemus had shown up. 

Not only _liked_ him and definitely not for a minute. That fell short, but it was the most she was willing to admit. 

The discussion had been a way to let out steam, a way to shout at him for all the wrong reasons. She could have, if she had the emotional strength, told Tiberias what his friend had done to her family. However, if he already knew, it would be opening a whole new can of worms. 

The sensation of watching a loved one tip over the narrow line between life and death and hang there for two months was not something easily forgotten. 

Like so many other times, she called her brother just to make sure he was still breathing. It was like she couldn’t do so herself until she heard him healthy and as annoying as ever. 

They talked until she felt her lungs weren’t being torn from the inside. 

“Anyway, I’ll let you sleep now. Sorry for calling so late.” She ran a hand over her face. 

“You think this is late? My beloved wife is keeping me from turning the lights off because- hear this- she has to make a budget presentation on Monday. Monday! Needless to say, I’ll be moving to the couch for the entire weekend. Sucks to be the mistress in her marriage to politics.” 

Mare laughed and heard Farley’s voice reprimanding Shade. He put the phone on speaker and the three of them talked for a few more minutes. 

All was well, but she still felt like there was a hole in her chest after they hung up. 

When she pushed Shade’s bedroom door open, he pulled the covers over the book he’d been reading and pretended to be asleep. 

“Aren’t you sneaky?” She scrunched her nose affectionately as she dragged her feet over to the bed and lied down next to him. 

He cracked an eye open. Upon seeing she wasn’t mad at him; he opened the other and showed her the book. It was _‘The life and habits of African mammals’._

“Looks interesting. But I’m sure the book will still be here in the morning.” She kissed his temple and turned off the night-light. 

“I urgently...” he yawned, hugging her arm and curling into her. Mare felt her pieces being stitched back together. “Needed to check something.” 

“And did you find it, what you needed to check?” 

He nodded. “I can’t tell you anything about it yet. It’s an ongoing investigation.” 

_Ongoing_. He was so smart. She nuzzled his hair and let his quiet breaths keep the darkness and the nightmares at bay. 

Yes, she missed Cori terribly and wished she’d gotten to wish her a good night. But it seemed Shade and her were meant to be a team of two. 

~🐾~🐾~ 

Shade had watched hundreds of wildlife documentaries and read countless books about the behavior of animals. One thing he had clear: Natural interactions between animals, were not to be interrupted, no matter how weird they seemed to the observer. 

That Friday afternoon, when he was organizing his belongings in his fake room, he had gone to fetch a glass of water and had run into Cori watching from the lower landing of the stairs over to the living room. He got a chance to put the theory to the test. 

Mom and Cal were entangled in a fierce battle. His first instinct was to go and kick Cal in the shin, tell him to get away from his mom, but then he realized she didn’t seem to be in any distress. In fact, she seemed to be having fun, smiling in between throwing insults at Cal while he tried to get her off his back. 

Cori was gripping the rails as she bounced on her feet and whispered, _“Get him, Mare!”_. 

Then, Mare locked her leg around his leg and they plummeted to the ground and things got weirder. He’d never seen his mom acting like this. It reminded him of lions’ courtship rituals, where it seemed they were trying to kill each other when it was the opposite. 

Shade quirked an eyebrow and pursed his lips thinking how weird it was to see humans displaying such basic instincts. Would that happen to him someday? God, he hoped not. It looked ridiculous. 

The girl tried to run to them, probably eager to get a better view now that they were partially hidden behind the big couch. Shade stopped her by the shoulder. 

Interrupting them would disturb the natural way of things. 

“Hey, can you help me with my bedroom? I don’t know where to put my ant farm.” 

“I want to go with the grown-ups,” she pouted like he was asking her to make a huge sacrifice. 

“Please?” He gave her his best pleading look, like Clara had taught him to get things, big eyes and a sad expression. 

“Ugh, fine.” She threw her arms in the air and stomped up the stairs. “You’re the worst big brother.” 

Natural equilibrium protected? _Check._

~🐾~

_The mystery of the pretend game. Part 2._

_«Mom doesn’t talk to Cal in the mornings anymore. She stopped after the dinner fight. Not the funny one before the visitors arrived, the one where they said bad things to each other and screamed. I should not have listened from the kitchen window but I was curious. It was a mistake. Cal doesn’t tell jokes on the ride to school either. I’m sad»_

_«Mom has forbiden me from going to Cori’s house ‘as long as uncle Tolly is there’. He does have a mean face, and I trust mom, even if Cori says he is a spectacular uncle. I asked Cal how long is he going to be here and he said ‘until he finishes with the renovation of his family's summer residence in Summerton’. That’s a terrible answer. I don’t know how long renovations take and I miss talking to Cal. I do my homework and he fixes cars in his garage. That’s all in the past»_

_«Today, the teacher showed me an important lesson. Two girls had an argument during recess (like Mom and Cal) over markers (I don’t understand what Mom’s fight was about) and stopped being friends. The teacher said friends should work things out so they can go back to playing together. He told them to go to a table in the back of the classroom until they figured things out. When the second recess bell rang, they were great friends again. I need to make Mom and Cal sit together and work things out»_

_«I DO NOT WANT TYTON TO KISS MY MOM. He likes to mess my hair and call me champion when he visits my house (My name isn’t Champion, it is Shade). I do not like him. It’s wrong that mom accepted a date with him (that is where kissing happens says Cori) but I can’t do anything about it. I’m angry at Mom... and at Cal! He stood there and did nothing. It is messed up. A trip to the farmer’s market is supoused to be fun (I eat samples and look at the fish) IT IS NOT a place to run into friends from work. And it is NOT a place to accept invitations to dates»_

Weeks passed, Mare’s birthday passed, her date with Tyton passed and Shade could not figure out how to fix the problem. Tolly was still at Cal’s so he hadn’t found the occasion to get his Mom and his favorite neighbor to share a bench and talk things out. 

That, until a fine Monday afternoon, when the teacher reminded them of the upcoming trip to the astronomy observatory at the end of the month. 

“And don’t forget to get your permission slip before you leave,” Sister Arven patted the pile of papers on her desk, then the pile next to it. “And this other one is for your parents to read in case they want to chaperone the trip. We need two,” she showed them two fingers, “Two couples. Tell them that. It’s all written here.” 

The wheels of Shade’s brain started to turn as he straightened on his desk and raised his hand. 

“Yes, Shade?” Sister Arven directed her big green eyes at him. 

He swallowed. She made him nervous, for she insisted on the class being deadly silent a little too much for his taste. 

“Are we going by bus?” he managed to speak. 

“Yes.” 

“And you have to share a seat?” 

“Yes. Class dis-” She was about to say but he cut her off, growing more and more certain by the second of what he had to do. 

“And the parents have to share a seat too?” 

“Yes. No more questions.” She silenced him with a significant tilt of her head. 

Whatever. He had the information he needed. 

On his way out, he grabbed the permission slips, taking two of the ones meant for the parents. Mom and Cal were going on that trip whether they liked it or not, and they were going to be friends again. Sometimes nature needed to be nudged back in the right direction. 


	10. I ---- you to the moon and back (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Gracias_ as always for your wonderful comments and support for this story. It literally wouldn't exist if you weren't there to bully me into writing ily

She’d been an idiot to go on that date with Tyton. And she’d been an idiot of apocalyptic proportions to agree to go out with him a second time. 

As Mare made her rounds around the hydroelectric plant, supervising everything was in order, she wasted more efforts double-checking every corner trying not to run into him than actually supervising anything. It would be awkward to explain that the only reason she’d agreed to go out with him in the first place was that his timing had been impeccable. 

The farmer’s market was always busy and it was only normal to run into people you knew. Naturally, with her luck, she ran into Tiberias. For the sake of Cori, she sharply replied with a _Hi_ to his just as dry _Hello_. It had been unfortunate that her eyes had landed on the _Bee Happy_ honey jars in his shopping basket, when, allegedly, he’d stopped getting his honey from Mary weeks ago. Acid burned at the pit of her stomach and threatened to make her say something terribly petty. 

Thankfully, Tyton showed up and gave her the chance to _do_ something petty. 

It was a recurring joke between them (at least for her it was a joke) that her coworker always sneaked ways to ask her out in every conversation they had and she offhandedly turned him down. 

Tiberias didn’t bother hiding the fact that he wasn’t looking at the fresh produce of the stalls, but glowering at the side of her face as she laughed at Tyton’s jokes a bit too loudly and played with her hair. Cori had gotten bored and straight-up sat down in the middle of the aisle while Shade gripped, or more like crushed her hand. 

“Yeah, their pasta was good but not as good as the one from the restaurant at the pier I told you about. You should come with me, this Friday, what do you say? An early birthday present.” He’d said, smooth as always. 

This was the part she declined without as much as an excuse. 

Acutely aware of Tiberias witnessing everything, and the damning honey from Mary’s place on full display in his basket for the world to see, she said a resounding... 

“Yes, I would love to.” 

“Great, it’s a date,” he gave her a crooked smile and messed with Shade’s hair before leaving to continue his shopping. 

Oh, the look on Tiberias’ face had been priceless. He was burning holes into an innocent cabbage with his eyes, jaw clenched so tightly she could see the muscle work under the skin, and his eye twitch slightly. 

The second date she had agreed to had been Ella’s fault. After not having a terrible time the first date, Ella had reminded her of the goodness of _intimate_ contact. _The kind of contact she’d severely lacked for over a year and maybe she should give Tyton a chance_ , she had talked herself into it. 

But when he’d kissed her before dropping her off at her home (Shade was sleeping over at older Shade’s place) everything had crashed and burnt. He wasn’t a bad kisser _per se_ \- he was pretty good actually. Still, it wasn’t his handsome face she saw when her eyes closed. 

When she closed her eyes, bronze gold eyes and a despicable, stupidly beautiful face possessed her thoughts and made her chest ache with longing. 

Afterward, she’d felt a pang of guilt so nauseating, she had to keep reminding herself she hadn’t done anything wrong. She brushed her teeth extra hard before going to bed alone that night. 

And now, after spending the weekend ignoring his texts, she was more worried about spotting a mane of dyed white hair than one of the industrial coils exploding. 

She was at one of the top levels when her phone started to vibrate with an incoming call. A perfect excuse to go out, since the signal inside the tunnels was terrible. 

She fished the phone out of one of her blue coverall’s deep pockets. Freezing wind pricked her skin like needles and loosened strands of hair from her ponytail. 

“Ah Mrs. Barrow, contacting your household has been quite the ordeal this fine morning.” Even though she didn’t have Carmadon’s contact saved yet, his voice was unmistakable. “How do you do?” 

“I’m good, thanks. Is everything alright with the kids?” 

“They’re perfectly fine.” She could hear a smile in his tone. “It’s you and your husband I’m calling about.” 

Was this a delayed repercussion for their fraud being discovered by the counselor? It had been a month since that; it would make no sense. 

“Uh... ok?” 

“I called to _remind_ you, before the Reverend Mother calls later today, that chaperones are expected an hour earlier than the rest for the trip to the observatory this Thursday.” 

Shade and Cori’s trip, they were all packed up and eager to go. The chaperone thing threw her off the loop. She needed him to keep talking. 

“Yes?” she squinted her eyes. “Anything else?” 

“I also wanted to personally thank you and your husband for taking time off of your busy schedules to chaperone the kids.” He said slowly, trying to make her understand. 

Air left her in a soundless scoff. _They what?!_

 _Think quickly_ , she willed herself but her mind was blank. 

“We signed up to chaperone the trip. This Thursday. Both of us.” She repeated, waiting for Carmadon to laugh and tell her he was messing with her. 

“Yes! And we’re very thankful.” She could swear she heard him cough to hide a laugh. “Parents rarely sign up for these events and your quick response and confirmation caused an excellent impression with the directives.” 

The dam next to her was closing in like a concrete tsunami. She wheezed trying to get air into her lungs and blinked forcefully once, twice. 

“That’s wonderful. Wonderful news.” _Worst fucking news of the century_. “We’re looking forward to it... um, out of curiosity, in case something came up and we couldn’t—” 

Carmadon spoke seriously then. “I _strongly_ advise against it, Mrs. Barrow. The trip is in less than three days. Any trouble would vex the wrong people. Important people.” 

“Well, thank you for calling, Mr. Davidson. I had completely forgotten we had to be there an hour earlier, I thought it was two hours earlier,” she produced a laugh as fake as her marriage. 

As soon as he ended the call, Mare radioed Ella to let her know she was leaving earlier, without even changing out of her work clothes. Apparently, she had a trip to get ready for. 

~🌙~

The tires of her car screeched as she pulled over on Tiberias' driveway. 

Mare had gone to Burner’s first and demanded to speak with him. The cowering man behind the counter had flinched and asked her who she was. 

“I’m his wife.” Her growl could have sent a demon into retreat with its tail between its legs. 

“He- he didn’t come in today.” The man was practically peeing his pants. “He hasn’t for a few days. Sorry.” 

She pounded her fist on the front door until Ptolemus opened, looking terribly annoyed. She entered uninvited. 

“Where is he?” She was breathing fire and he stared at her with the sole purpose of irritating her further. “ _Where is he?_ ” 

“In the garage,” he drawled and turned to close the door she’d left open. “ _God, what does he see in her_ ,” he muttered under his breath, but she was already going in the general direction she believed the garage to be. 

Stomping her way through the living room, the dining room, and then to a narrow hallway to the left, she refused to go back and ask Ptolemus for directions. She threw open every door on the way until she made it to a mudroom that opened up to a garage three times the size of her house. There was his damn Jeep, and there were also two vintage sports cars and at least 4 motorbikes. What was the use of all that? Some people just didn’t give a shit about global warming. 

Like the interior of his house, one of the walls consisted mainly of floor to ceiling windows that opened up to the forest like the closet from Narnia. Except this wasn’t a fairytale, it was a gearhead’s wet dream. 

“You fucking traitor,” she growled as she went to a black car with the hood opened. She spotted Tiberias leaning under the hood, fixing something. “What were you thinking? Signing us up for that trip? Wasn’t it enough for you that we had to rely on Carmadon keeping his mouth shut? now you want to improvise scenes of our everlasting love in front of a bigger audience.” She was out of breath and he hadn’t even spared her a glance. 

“Tiberias Calore, you’ll be the seventh and the last of your dynasty if you don’t give me an answer.” She hissed walking right up to him. 

He startled, hitting his head with the hood as he straightened and jumped backward. 

“What the hell!” He rubbed the back of his head as he took off his AirPods, visibly shocked to see her. He ran a full-body scan of her as if he feared the concussion was causing him hallucinations. 

He hadn’t been ignoring her. He couldn’t hear her. _Oops_. 

“Did you sign us up for the trip?” Fuming, she dared him to lie. But his confusion was so evident, her anger started to dissipate immediately. “We are to chaperone the astronomy trip this week. Carmadon called to thank us. And no, we can’t back away after giving our _‘confirmation’_.” She made the air quotes. 

He digested the information still rubbing the back of his head. Mare really tried not to ogle the way his grease-stained white t-shirt strained around his bicep, or the drop of sweat caressing his temple and jaw as it fell, or how his hair was a bird’s nest, pointing in every direction like he’d run his hands through it a million times. Actually, all of him was a mess. With dark circles under his golden eyes and a one-week stubble that made him look like a vagrant. 

Ok, fine. He didn’t look like a vagrant, it was more like an Italian-prince-turned-model-fallen-in-disgrace look that made you want to invite him to your hotel room to hear his sob story, offer him a shower and a massage... what? 

“Well, I didn’t sign us up and neither did you.” He inferred looking at the far wall, deep in thought. Mare seized the opportunity to inconspicuously back away until her back was pressed against the nearest wall. “Someone took the job of forging our signatures and later confirming probably through e-mail or phone call.” 

_Shade_. He’d orchestrated that _Woman Need_ plan the other day, he might as well have orchestrated this one too. To be fair, we would have needed a lot of help. From whom? Any of his uncles would have happily helped him for the chance to annoy her. And why? Maybe he didn’t want to go alone on his first school trip… that was unconvincing. 

“It sounds like something Coriane would do if she had the means,” he scratched his chin, a half-smile tugging at his lips. 

He went to the workbench next to her, grabbed a rag, and soaked it with a cheap body oil to clean his hands, black with grease. 

“I’ll ask Shade. But at this point it doesn’t make any difference,” she grudgingly mumbled and pretended not to examine the way he methodically cleaned every long, calloused finger one by one. She reasoned her sudden lightheadedness was because of the gasoline smell that permeated the air. “You’re all caught up in case Blonos calls you later. I suspect she will since she likes you better.” 

“If you say so,” he glanced at her, almost forlorn. 

“You know how much women like you,” she blurted out for no reason. 

His expression turned somber and he continued cleaning his hands. 

“ _Everyone_ likes me, according to you.” He mumbled in a cutting tone.

Great job, leave it to her to start a fight where there was none. She tore her eyes from his hands and pushed away from the wall, feeling the heaviness in her lungs worsen the longer she saw him like that. 

She was about to leave but a section of the workbench called her attention. It was cleaner, there was a cushioned high bench, the part where tools were supposed to be hanged was covered with drawings and animal stickers. 

Mare pushed past him and inspected the cozy small section. 

“What is all this?” 

It had Shade’s personality written all over it. There were a bunch of drawings of lions, birds, insects, and even a few of Cori, Tiberias, and her, all signed with a little note at the bottom. 

_«Sheep have four stomachs»_

_«Polar bears have black skin under the white fur»_

_«Cicadas make the sound with their wings»_

And there were even fun facts about the people he’d drawn: _Mom can speak two languages, Cori hates green food, Cal sings a lot (He tries his best but it’s not really good)_. That last one made her chuckle. 

_«Cal is my best friend»_ Reading that punctured her lungs with a long spear, spilling weeks of repressed pain all over his garage floor. With all of the chaos of the last weeks she hadn’t even considered how Shade might feel about not getting to spend time with Tiberias. She was the worst mother in the world. 

When she turned around, she was staring at Tiberias' chest. Even though he’d kept his distance, he was close enough that she could smell the grease mixed with his cologne. 

“I assumed he studied with Cori in the living room or something,” she sheepishly admitted. 

“Cori does her homework with a tutor. Shade studies here.” He smiled and nodded to the curated space. “He was appalled to learn I didn’t know anything about wildlife and started to leave those. He is my little working companion.” 

Mare chewed on her lower lip and reluctantly met his eyes; sad despite the smile on his face. 

“I miss having him around,” Tiberias shrugged and looked at the floor, very interested in an old oil stain he rubbed with the sole of his boot. 

But there was still a walking nightmare from her past roaming his house. Her nightmare, not her son’s. A principle should never be an excuse for cruelty. 

She sighed and leaned back on the workbench. If he wasn’t a bad influence for Shade, there really was no point in keeping him from coming here. 

“Who did you vote for last elections?” She asked without a preamble. 

That pulled him out of whatever melancholy he was wallowing in. He stared at her baffled by the question and Mare insisted with a circular hand gesture. 

“For the SPD.” Thank God. Kilorn was doing an internship with a Member of the Parliament of the Social Democratic Party. They were decent. “Who did _you_ vote for?” He returned the question accusingly. 

“Labour,” she smirked. “Couldn’t you tell?” The LP had a hard-left agenda. 

“I should have.” A mischievous glint lit up his eyes and _oh how she’d missed that look_. “Loud as hell, all talk, no real results.” 

Mare rolled her eyes. He wasn’t entirely wrong. 

“I’ll give Shade permission to come over to study.” 

Tiberias gave her a real smile this time. “Really?” 

She nodded and started to walk toward the exit. 

“Mare,” she turned to look at him. He had a particular look on his face like he was about to say something profound. Instead, he said, “those coveralls look great on you. You should wear them more often.” 

He smirked, proud of the stupid remark or compliment or whatever that was. Was it supposed to be a joke? These were her work clothes, of course she wore them often. 

Despite her best efforts, her cheeks flushed red. “Tiberias, that shirt is filthy, you should take it off.” She tried to be snarky but realized that’s not at all what that had sounded like. Well, this was embarrassing. “Pack your bags. Bye.” 

She was almost out of the hallway that led to the dining room when his booming laugh reached her. 

She smiled to herself until she ran into Ptolemus watching TV in the living room. That snuffed her flicker of happiness pretty fast. 

Ptolemus: Bad. Tiberias: Ptolemus friend. It was an easy equation with a fucked-up solution. Stay away from both. 

~🌙~

“Shade. You put our names on that form, right?” She cut to the chase as she prepared sandwiches for the two-hour bus ride tomorrow. 

Her beloved son was sitting on the counter, handing her the ingredients. His eyes opened like plates. “Who told you?” 

“You just did.” She took the mustard jar from his hand. “This time I am angry about it,” she said sternly. “And I want to know who helped you because there’s no way you pulled this off all by yourself.” 

“Am I grounded?” 

“Yes, after we come back, you will be.” She kept her tone free of menace, she didn’t mean to scare him, just show him that actions had consequences. “Now tell me who helped you and why did you do it.” 

“I’m sorry, Mom, but I can’t tell you,” he sighed and raised his chin, resigned to accept his martyrdom. “You can ground me for all my life if you feel like it.” 

Ok... this rebellious kid was new. Cori was probably rubbing off on him and she had no idea how to deal with it. To be honest, it was kind of funny. Wrong (arguable), but funny. 

She was about to go on a long boring responsible-mother explanation about why meddling with adults' personal lives was wrong until a knock on the door saved her from having to do it. 

It was Gisa and Lucy. 

“I brought presents!” she grinned raising paper bags before her. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, matching the color of her hair sticking from under the beanie. 

“What’s the occasion?” Mare stepped aside and greeted them with kisses on the cheek. 

They left their coats and bags on the hanger and the gift bags in her hands. 

“Shade’s astronaut mission tomorrow. _Hola, mi niño guapo_ ,” Gisa cooed to her nephew and peppered his face with kisses. “We also brought one for Cori.” 

Inside the bags, there were the most beautiful knitted scarfs Mare had ever seen. One was a deep blue color with yellow constellations and the other was purple and had a bunch of cute green aliens in their ships. 

“I want the one with aliens!” 

Mare gave it to him narrowing her eyes. The little shit was getting away with murder because she couldn’t scold him in front of Gisa without having to disclose the whole faux marriage thing. Unless... Gisa had been involved. 

“I’m going too, as a chaperone.” She put her to the test. 

“You are?” Lucy seemed pleasantly surprised as she put the kettle on the stove. “That’s great, isn’t it, honey?” 

“You are?” Gisa was more skeptical. “You’re terrible managing children.” She helped Shade hop off the counter and started to set the teacups on the small round table under the window with a view to the side garden. 

Her younger sister had never been a good liar. This was convincing enough for Mare. 

“Yes, so? There’s always room for improvement.” 

“Wise words.” Lucy chimed in. “And speaking of improvement, you have to help me convince your sister to let me renovate the storefront.” 

They had tea and chatted for a while. At one point, Gisa started to get very fidgety and Lucy went to the bathroom. Then Gisa asked to use the other bathroom, the one from her room, and Shade immediately dropped his cup on the floor, shattering it in the process. 

The visit came to an end shortly afterward. 

When Mare went to sleep, she failed to remember she’d left her packed travel bag halfway shut, and now it was shut completely. 

The seemingly unconnected series of events wouldn’t make sense to her until the following day. 

~🌙~

Gisa had been right, she was indeed horrible managing children. 

The trip was for the first and second grades, and each grade was supervised by a pair of parents and their teacher. So not only did she have to endure the 20 loud screeching demons that were under her care, but she also had to weather the PTA mom that had willingly signed up for this and her stupid _‘cool dad’_ husband. 

Shelly and Max, both as blond and white as the sun. 

If Mare had to choose, she would pick the demon children any time. 

For two hours the bus was filled with joyous travel songs and the wailing of those begging to go back home. She helped with the former, hating every word she sang, and Tiberias helped with the latter. He was surprisingly good at talking to them and getting them to calm down. _Cool Max_ tried to imitate him, obviously displeased with another male getting to be the alpha of the pack, but there was no helping it. Tiberias was a natural leader. 

When a redhead boy called over to Tiberias, Cool Max tried to take over but the kid insisted he needed specifically his help to open a jar of peanut butter. Watching both of them return to the front of the bus where she led the chants, one with his enormous ego bruised and the other just happy to have helped, Mare felt oddly proud of her man. It was so overwhelming she gave him a quick peck on the shoulder when he squeezed next to her to get back to his seat. 

She regretted it immediately. This was not keeping her distance. 

Tiberias stilled for a second and she felt his eyes on her, wondering if he had just unintentionally bumped her face or if she’d actually done what she did. Mare kept her eyes to the back of the bus, ignoring him and the riotous butterflies in her stomach, and pretending nothing had happened. 

Shade kept mostly to himself, talking to the redhead boy from time to time. Sometimes he looked at her and then to the empty seat next to her husband, the one she’d left vacant in favor of standing in the middle of the aisle. Shade would frown and sigh and go back to looking out of the window. 

When the driver announced they were 10 minutes away, Mare finally sank in the seat and drank a whole bottle of water in one go. 

“Wow, almost two hours blessed by the sound of your voice.” Tiberias teased her, suppressing a smile that still managed to crinkle the corners of his eyes. “What an honor.” 

“Oh, shut up. I’ve heard your singing and it isn’t much better.” She glared at him without any ill-feeling. 

A pleasant feeling passed between them like a paper boat safely sailing across a pond, carried by a sweet breeze.

The observatory was on top of a high hill, accessible by a funicular located next to the hotel at the foot of the hill. 

The hotel was an unglamorous grey building with a seventies architecture that made one think of cold-war interrogation rooms and underground bunkers. Since it was mostly used for educational purposes and was funded by the government, there was no point in making it look prettier. 

That didn’t stop Coriane Calore from looking like she’d just disembarked in Milan as she jumped down from the first graders’ bus. Trench coat and brand-new blue scarf billowing on the wind, she raised her sunglasses to look for her father and stepmother. When she spotted them, she made her way to them with a resentful scowl. 

She’d asked to go on their bus, but it was against the rules. “Did you have fun without me?” She inquired. 

“I promise you; I've never had a worse time in my life,” Mare whispered, bending toward her so Shelly wouldn’t hear as she counted the children getting down from the bus. 

“Good,” she sentenced with a straight face and let her sunglasses fall to the bridge of her nose, then whipped around and returned with her classmates. 

Mare’s mouth fell open in a half-baffled, half-hurt expression. 

More used to the girl’s temper, Tiberias shook his head and signaled for Mare to follow him to the back of the bus, where they started to unload the bags. 

“She’ll get over it by lunch, don’t worry too much about it.” 

Inside the lobby, all of the astronomy-themed decoration and light-colored weathered marble floors made the hotel look way less gloomy. They gathered the children and reminded them of the rules before assigning them bedroom numbers. 

Then it was the adults' turn. Shelly took it upon herself to hand out the keys. “This one is for the Calores,” she extended the card to them. 

Both of them stared dumbly at the card with a _350_ number in it. 

“I hope you don’t mind it being on a different floor, even if you _did_ sign up last.” She disguised her jab with a nasal laugh. 

“I thought I would be sharing a room with...” the other women, Mare meant to say, but shut her mouth as soon as she noticed the three older moms looking at her strangely like she’d grown a second head. 

Shelly cackled again and patronizingly rubbed her arm. “Oh dear, this isn’t summer camp. Boys with boys, girls with girls. We’re adults...” She was delighted to sneak another jab at her youth and the other parents laughed too. Mare wanted to strangle her. “Unless there a reason you can’t share a room with your husband?” Her anemic blue eyes jumped from her to Tiberias like a gossip-hungry vulture. 

He snatched the key from her hand with a dry _thank you_ and led Mare away by placing a hand on her lower back. 

Once they were inside one of the elevators across the lobby, Shelly entertained her audience yet again at their expense and it reached Mare’s ears like gasoline to a flame. 

“Trouble in paradise after only two months of marriage? No wonder these millennial kids don’t get married anymore.” 

_That’s it_. Mare let the travel bag fall from her shoulder, grabbed the front of Tiberias’ sweater, and pulled him in roughly. Giving the old people a little show to be jealous about just as the doors closed between them and the now stunned into silence audience. 

To them, it had looked like the young couple had started to kiss.

The reality was: Tiberias had tripped on Mare’s bag and instinctively pressed a hand to the wall next to her head and held on to her waist with the other, while she held his face, strategically placing her thumb between their mouths so they weren’t actually kissing. 

None of those rational explanations of the reality stopped her body from lighting up like an overloaded coil, sputtering sparks in every point of warm contact. 

She couldn’t move. Pines, smoke, his cologne made her drowsy as she moved her thumb down a millimeter, intending to push him away but instead finding out how unbelievably soft his lips were. His grip on her waist tightened almost painfully and _God she wanted to kiss him so so bad._

 _Ding_. The doors opened. 

Gathering every last drop of will power she possessed, she pushed his face and dove away from him, grabbing her bag from the floor in the process. 

They were in a long, empty corridor lined with doors. Alone. That didn’t help her hammering heart return to normalcy at all. 

“350, 350.” She chanted aloud to fill the silence and didn’t even dare to look back at her acting partner. 

“Here,” he stopped at a door she’d just walked by. Her mind wasn’t working properly, obviously. 

He swiped the card with an extremely neutral expression like a doctor about to deliver an update on a critical patient. Was it good? Was it bad? The door slowly opened before them. It was worse than bad.

And he delivered the news with an uncomfortable raspiness in his voice. 

“One bed.” 


	11. I ---- you to the moon and back (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for being such lovely readers and for telling me what you think of this fic <3<3<3 I read everything you write and it's my fuel.  
> Before we start, a disclaimer: If you're super familiar with Roman mythology, pretend you do not see me butchering a story for my own Marecal agenda. Sorry 😬

Fucking Shelly with her fucking malicious room placement. Mare checked the time on her phone every five minutes, dreading what was to come. The anxiety tied a pretty noose around her neck and tightened it as the night approached. 

The activities for the first day went like this: 

9 am arrival 

10 am breakfast and orientation 

11 am to 4 pm there minicourses about the universe and the stars, arts and crafts, organized games and lunch. 

At 6 pm, there was an hour-long nap before dinner, so they could stay awake until 11 pm when they would finally go up to the observatory and get a chance to see the moon with a long-range telescope. Bedtime was at midnight. 

Quite the adventure for the kids, not only to be away from home but to stay up past their usual curfew as well. 

The activities were led by the observatory staff, mainly composed of last year college students volunteering here to get credits for their physics or astronomy degrees. That meant Mare’s job as a chaperone was limited to run from one building to another, making sure none of the kids had chopped their limbs off with safety scissors, or getting them inhalers or an extra coat from their rooms. So she was a glorified errand girl. 

Tiberias must have been doing the same thing. Not that she cared. His absence allowed her to forget they were in the same place. 

She did manage to steal a few minutes here and there to check on Cori and Shade. 

Cori was bored to death and kept getting into trouble because she talked with her friends too much. 

“It’s not that I don’t care. But there’s so much fun stuff to talk about here and they don’t want to talk about it.” Cori explained, glaring at the poor college student, Tom, criminally unprepared to deal with such a self-assured six-year-old. 

“What do you want to talk about?” Mare was kneeling next to the low table where the children were making posters of the constellations’ stories they’d been taught that morning. 

“I don’t want to know about the wolf with the two babies. I want to know about their mom.” 

Cori was talking about Lupus, the wolf constellation that was connected to the Romulus and Remus legend. One of the brothers killed the other, then founded Rome. That was pretty much everything Mare knew about it. History had never been one of her favorite subjects, mainly because her public-school teachers had never been invested in getting them to learn shit. 

“What about their mom?” she indulged her, walking around the around table, making sure no one started a fight over crayons or paint. 

“Well,” Cori placed her elbows on the table and laced her paint-smeared fingers under her chin, excited to get to talk about it. “Her name was Rhea, and she was so beautiful a god fell in love with her, and they had two babies. Then she gave her babies to a she-wolf because she dies, I think. Tom doesn’t want to tell me anything else. I want to know about her wedding and her kiss, and who was the god, if he was handsome like a Prince.” She raised her fingers as she listed her demands. 

She was thinking of telling Cori she would look it up and share the scoop with her during dinner if she behaved for the rest of the day, but someone else had the answers ready to go. 

The energy in the room shifted as if the air had filled with static. 

“The god that fell in love with Rhea was Mars, the god of war.” Tiberias voice was right behind her, deep and rich like a good whiskey and it made her skin warm up in an instant. 

“Where did they meet?” Cori asked with a dreamy expression. 

“They met at a special garden Rhea took care of. And to answer your other question he was very strong and handsome too.” 

All of the 8 kids at the table sighed. Who didn’t enjoy a good love story? Mare didn’t. She looked at him only to raise an unimpressed eyebrow. 

“It’s a perfect story. You’re like Mars, daddy.” Cori sprinkled a generous amount of glitter on her wolf (it had four legs; it resembled a wolf) drawing. “And Mare is Rhea with her beautiful garden.” 

Mare did an excellent job of keeping her face neutral even if she felt Cori had sprinkled the glitter in her bloodstream. 

“And me and Shade are the babies you leave with the wolf.” 

“I would never leave you with a wolf,” Mare let out an easy laugh. 

“You leave me with _Tom_ , ugh.” Cori crinkled her nose. “At least a wolf is fluffy and fun.” 

Tom heard from across the classroom and looked like he wanted to down a bottle of vodka right then and there. He was probably reconsidering if the credits were compensation enough for this torture. Mare shared the sentiment, even if she did like to spend more time around her kids. 

Her kids. Plural. She needed to stop doing that. 

A text from Shelly let her know she was needed at the maze in the woods ‘ASAP’. Apparently, a boy had stuck his foot in a puddle and she had to go fetch him a dry pair of shoes. She informed Tiberias, even though she didn’t owe him any information of the sort. 

He had a smug expression as he accompanied her to the door and opened it for her. 

“You didn’t contradict Cori when she compared us to Rhea and Mars.” He teased her in a cheeky murmur. “I like that.” 

Her skin started to burn under the layers of winter clothing. 

“Yeah, sure big boy.” She patted him on the chest. “You’re a Greek god and one of our children will commit fratricide.” 

He frowned, displeased by the outcome. “Mars is Roman.” 

She waved at him without looking back as she walked away, happy to get the last word and to get away from him. 

“Good to hear it’s not the fratricide part that bothers you.” 

Mare checked the time only for the anxiety to take over once more. 

Six hours and twenty minutes left. 

~🏺~

Time goes by fast when one is having fun or when an unpleasant appointment is due. So naturally, between the magical experience of getting to see the stunning Lady of the night and mood swings, the moon herself, up and personal, and with the prospect of sharing a little over 200 Square feet of enclosed space with Tiberias, the 6 remaining hours vanished in a _poof_. 

Their muffled steps over the carpeted empty hallway were deafening to her ears as they made their way to room 350. 

“That was fun,” Tiberias said, breaking the silence as he swiped the card. 

The door opened to reveal the same nightmarish display it had shown them the first time. A plain room with sliding glass doors that opened to a tiny balcony, a door on the side that led to a bathroom, and a queen-size bed. There was also the musty smell of a room that had been closed for too long. 

“Yup. We didn’t have trips like these in the schools I went to.” She explained, jumpy like a chihuahua. They had left their bags on the floor earlier and she went for hers. “I’m glad the kids got to see the real thing. Not just pictures.” 

The door closed behind her with a soft click and the walls started closing in. 

“Totally,” he said awkwardly and she refused to look at him or the bed as she set the alarms for the morning with unprecedented concentration. “I’ll uh... hit the shower. Ok?” 

“Sure, sure,” she waved him off, eyes still glued to her phone. 

He picked his duffel bag from the ground and only after he disappeared in the bathroom, she allowed herself to let out a long breath and sit on the edge of the bed. Why the hell was she being so weird about this? It’s not like she had never shared a room with boys before. Granted, the boys had been her brothers or Kilorn, but it didn’t excuse the way her mind kept trying to go to dark places like a dog straining against a leash. 

And by dark, she meant inappropriate. And by inappropriate, she meant the stirring soup of memories of the time she’d caught him mowing the lawn shirtless, or when he’d bridal-carried because of her hurt ankle, or the other day when he was covered in grease. Not to mention her dreams... oh god, she didn’t talk in her sleep, did she? 

Acting on impulse, she grabbed one of the pillows and placed it at the center of the bed. 

A few minutes later, Tiberias reappeared wearing sweatpants and a cotton shirt. 

Good. He looked decent. Nothing like the evil seducer in her imagination. 

“Your side.” She pointed at the side closer to the bathroom door. “My side.” She pointed to the other. 

“I thought the Left didn’t believe in frontiers,” he joked drying his inky black hair with the towel. 

“The floor is also an option,” she threatened him, hugging her travel bag as she marched on, head held high. 

In the bathroom she took her time under the shower, securing her hair in a high bun so it wouldn’t get wet, and counted the tiles in the wall to avoid overthinking. 

There were 227. 

When she couldn’t stall any longer, she wrapped herself in a towel and looked for her PJs in the bag she’d left next to the sink. Her pulse started to pick up, she couldn’t find them. She could have sworn— her fingers brushed a soft silky garment she knew hadn’t been there the day before when she had packed. 

Pulling out the garment between her thumb and forefinger like it was radioactive trash, she held it in front of her face. 

No. Fucking. Way. 

Her reflection in the fogged-up mirror was an increasingly furious glare. Gisa. That lying shit had replaced her comfy woolen PJs with this monstrosity. An almost sheer nightie the color of copper with lace appliqués at the bosom. In a panicked frenzy, she searched through the clothes she’d brought but her younger sister knew her too well. She’d brought the precise amount of clothes for each day and nothing comfortable enough to sleep in. 

She was doomed to wear this. 

Gisa had been Shade’s ally for this plan; she’d gone the extra mile and done a bit of scheming on her own. She was going to pay for this as soon as they returned from this godforsaken trip to hell. 

A small consolation was that her sister hadn’t replaced the rest of her underwear with sexy lingerie. She cursed in two languages under her breath, the adult version of a temper tantrum, as she put on normal Mare-approved panties and the monstrosity. 

The sad part, she thought looking at herself in the mirror, was that the nightie was a true work of art. It enhanced her curves and her not so abundant bosom perfectly. Too bad no one would appreciate it... Actually no, she hoped Tiberias was already asleep since she’d taken so long. 

She opened the door the room was dark save for the light behind her. Tiberias’ body was blocking almost all of the way. He’d thrown a pillow and a blanket on the floor and called it a day. It was a miserable sight. 

The idiot had taken it to heart when she’d told him to sleep on the floor. 

She turned off the light and slowly tiptoed around his massive frame. She wasn’t an asshole, as soon as she was hidden from sight under the covers, she would wake him up and tell him to get on the bed. 

A miscalculation in her step caused her to trip with Tiberias’ knee and she plummeted to the floor, elbowing him in the stomach in the process. He woke up with a pained grunt and reacted by trying to get her off him grabbing her hips. 

“Whyy?” he wheezed. 

“You are blocking the way!” She tried to scramble away from him at the same time he clumsily got up and stepped on her foot. “Ow!” 

“Sorry! Let me just-” He extended his arm toward the light switch on the wall. 

_NO._

_'Let there be light.'_

Tiberias’ face was a crash course for amateur actors in displaying the whole spectrum of human emotion in under 10 seconds as he gaped at her standing in front of him like an offering to Mars himself. His eyes opened wide, blinked a million times, opened his mouth, closed it, clenched his jaw, and then stared furiously at the wallpaper like it was hiding a secret of the state. A masterclass, truly. 

If this wasn’t so embarrassing, she would relish in it. Instead, she jumped to her side of the bed and covered herself up to her chin. Her scrunchie had ended up somewhere on the carpeted floor when she’d tripped but she wasn’t about to go looking for it. 

“You can turn off the light,” she mumbled trying to keep her voice steady despite her rapid breathing. 

And it was dark once again. Tiberias didn’t move an inch, though, not even removing his hand from the light switch. 

Shit, she’d just broken him. 

How would it look if she invited him to the bed after flashing him? Not great. She mentally cursed Gisa again before heaving a resigned sigh. 

“Laundry day.” She came up with a lame excuse. “And I was only joking about the floor thing. We’re adults, and the bed is meant to fit two so...” 

“Yeah... no, no... I mean, sure,” he said keeping a cool tone. He approached the bed as if it would bite him and got under the covers, as far away as it allowed him. “Good night.” 

The shift in the mattress tensed her up, making her want to scream and pull her hair out just to release some of the tension. She was losing it. 

“Night.” 

Not even two minutes passed before his deep voice broke the silence. 

“You know, I didn’t think anything about your choice of nightwear.” Ah, just what every girl wearing a skimpy outfit wanted to hear. “Not- not that it doesn’t look good. You do.” He blurted out and then ran a hand over his face. Mare bit her lips to keep from grinning even though he couldn’t see her expression. “I know you’re dating that guy with the grandpa hair. Fuck. I’m not trying to be a creep, I swear. I still respect you, with or without a partner and in any outfit.” He finished his declaration with the grace of a giraffe riding a unicycle. 

Her stomach hurt from holding back her laughter. Of course the perfect gentleman didn’t have those _icky_ desires most humans had. What would it take to make him break? 

_Maybe if she had Mary’s long legs and Disney princess smile_. That thought wiped out her mirth in an instant. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mary we were roommates.” She bit out. “I know how much you like her _honey_.” 

“I’m not going to pretend to know what the hell are you talking about.” 

And that was how to irritate Tiberias in a single sentence. She was becoming an expert. There was something incredibly satisfying about getting under his skin, getting revenge for the way he occupied her thoughts an unearthly amount of time. 

“Thanks for your chivalry, Tiberias. There’s nothing women love more than getting lied to their faces.” 

“What?!” He propped himself up on an elbow, so he was on his side, looking at her. 

She did the same. “You told me you were buying your honey at _Evergreen_ , but I saw the _Bee Happy_ jars.” She accused him, digging a nail in his pec. This had to be the stupidest thing she’d ever said in her life, but that didn’t stop her from emphasizing dramatically. “ _I saw them_.” 

His eyebrows rose with understanding and he snatched her wrist with an iron grip. 

“Oh, you mean the day you agreed to go on a date with Santa Claus?” He was smiling but there was no joy in his bronze eyes, only deep hot darkness she wanted to drink in until it made her drunk. 

“That very day. I knew you’d remember, liar. And his name is Tyton.” 

“Well, if you must know.” He pulled her in abruptly and his breath caressed her cheek as he hissed. “Mary approached _me_ with the samples, I didn’t buy them, but they were _delicious_ and I think I’ll buy from her from now on.” 

Mare felt a monster awaken in her bones. _Not if she burned down Mary’s stall before_. Just kidding, she wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t. 

“Fantastic, we should all support small businesses.” She smiled ironically. “In fact, I’ll go back to the pasta place with Tyton. Their lasagna was _way_ better than yours.” 

He looked one second away from flipping her over and spanking her. _Yes, please_ — Nope. 

“Great,” he said simply, not bothering to hide the hurt in his tone, and released her wrist, moving as far as he could on the bed and rolling over so his back was to her. 

Mare sank on the pillow and crossed her arms over her chest, burning with some confusing emotion she preferred to identify as anger (it wasn’t). 

Minutes passed and the hurt in his voice echoed inside her skull until she felt she was turning into a belltower. That hadn’t been as liberating as she’d intended. 

“Their lasagna wasn’t as good as yours,” she whispered. 

She saw the outline of his head move as he moved slightly in her direction. 

“I didn’t eat any of the honey samples,” he replied. Confession in exchange for a confession. “So... you won’t go there again with Tim?” 

A sneaky way to ask what he really meant to ask. She smiled despite herself, feeling a different emotion rise in her chest, sweeter and far more fulfilling. 

“Tyton. No, I won’t go anywhere with him ever again.” 

That made him lie on his back and crane his neck to look at her with a worried frown. “Did he hurt you?” 

And there it was again, the sudden, stupid urge to kiss him. She bit her lip and shook her head. 

“No,” she murmured. “I don’t like him that way, that’s it.” 

He looked to the ceiling, so his expression was unreadable. “I see. I’m still not interested in Mary or her honey. Just so you know.” 

Mare quirked an eyebrow and shrugged. “Whatever, that’s none of my business. Good night.” Then she turned her back to him, facing the balcony illuminated by moonlight, and scrunched up her face in a futile attempt to keep herself from grinning like an idiot. 

“Good night,” he replied softly. 

~🏺~

There was nothing good about this night. 

Problem number one: Between Gisa’s stupid (forced on her) gift and the fact that she’d picked the side closer to the exterior, she was fucking freezing. She’d curled up in a tiny ball trying to keep her body heat but she was a child of The Stilts, where the crudest winters were over 45°F degrees. These altitudes and below zero temperatures just weren’t for her. 

Problem number two: She had too much on her mind and couldn’t pace around the room and roll over the bed like she normally would until her frantic thoughts calmed down. This was no novelty, sleep never came easy to her. The hours between midnight and 3 am, her brain decided were the best to try to figure out the mysteries of the universe; from how to maximize efficiency at the hydroelectric plant, to when should Shade get his next haircut. Tonight, the stellar subject was how much Gisa knew about her fake marriage and who else knew. 

“Mare,” Tiberias groaned, voice thick with sleep. “Please, you’re moving the bed.” 

“Are- my- attepts- n- not to freeze to death bothering you?” She barked, hugging herself tighter. “Well, ex- excuse me.” 

Suddenly, a strong arm surrounded her waist and pressed her much smaller body flush to a broad chest. She almost jumped out of her skin overwhelmed by the abrupt heat, the excess of contact. His even heartbeats were a stark contrast to the wild drumming of her own heart. 

“There,” he mumbled against the top of her head. “Sleep.” 

Fat chance, buddy. She was more awake than she’d been in years. All too aware of the expanse of muscles pressed against her back. If she abandoned her fetal position, her bum would be all over his manly bits (very mature way to put it) and she didn’t think her sanity could withstand that. 

She tried to shimmy her way up, so at least she would be pressed against his stomach but only managed to make him mumble an incoherence. 

She gave up and uncurled her body, inevitably pressing her ass against his groin and her bare legs brushed his. He was really hot... his body temperature, she meant. 

Maybe this wasn’t that bad. In fact, she was kind of in heaven right now, he was like a big Teddy bear. Yeah, she could sleep like this. 

She waited for sleep to come. And waited and waited. At some point, she started to drum her fingers on the mattress, then to sigh repeatedly, then to shake her foot. 

“What now?” he grumbled, fully awake and pissed about it. 

“I think my sister helped Shade sign us up for this thing.” 

“And that’s relevant at 3 am because…” his voice reverberated against her back and it sent electricity all the way to the tip of her toes. 

“It’s not like I can turn off my brain at will, can I?” she asked irritated. 

Tiberias went silent for a minute and withdrew his arm until his hand was sprawled across her stomach. It reminded her of the way he’d touched her in his living room and her body remembered too. 

“I could help you with that.” His words were measured, careful. “Though, I’ll warn you it’s a stupid idea.” 

He started to rub circles on her skin just like last time. If she agreed to this, there would be no turning back. 

“It’s the only kind I expect from you.” She replied shakily, keeping balance on the rope for one last moment before she gave fell into the void of basic desires and did something really stupid indeed. 

“So you’re open to ideas?” 

Her reply came too fast and too easily. “Anything.” 

He snaked his other arm under her and this time he did press her up against him with intention, making her dizzy with a wave of heat. 

He let his hands roam her skin over the almost nonexistent barrier of the nightgown, from her ribs and down to her waist, her hips, as if he were trying to memorize her shape. 

“I’ve never been more grateful for laundry day,” he smirked against her temple. “What a wonderful, thin fabric.” To make his point he palmed one of her breasts and used the same exploring touch. “So flimsy.” 

His rough voice, his taunting touch, was all she needed to lose her reservations entirely. No thoughts. There was only his flesh and she wanted it all over her. 

“Didn’t you say you didn’t think anything of it?” 

“I lied.” He dragged the hand that was caressing her belly to her hipbone and dug his fingers firmly, drawing a gasp out of her. Then he brushed his fingers with excruciating softness over the sensitive flesh of her thighs until he finally reached the spot between her legs. She was suffocating, reaching back to grab a fistful of his shirt, anything to anchor her. If this was a dream, she better not woke up before he messed her up a little (or a lot). 

“What do you really think about it?” _About me_. That’s what she wanted to know. 

His fingers massaged her in long, firm strokes over her panties, letting her get used to the feeling of someone else’s hand instead of her own. I was so much better this way. 

He bent forward so he could bury his face in her neck and alternate between nibbling and kissing. Every time his warm mouth found her skin, her soul would sink a little deeper in the current of pleasure. 

“I thought I was dreaming again.” Again. He’d dreamed of her, like she’d dreamed of him. “You’re the most magnificent woman I’ve ever seen, and you’re such a tease, Mrs. Barrow.” 

A contented sigh left her body. This was the most soothing session of pleasuring her body she’d ever had. 

“Someone needs to show you,” she joked, high on him, “you’re not the center of the universe, Tiberias. “ 

He stiffened and his tone was almost offended as he started to recover his hand from under her nightgown. “If you’re going to call me that, we’re done here.” 

“No!” she startled and gripped his wrist to keep his hand where she liked it. She craned her neck to look up at him with big, good girl eyes. She could be good… sometimes. “What do you want me to call you?” she murmured sweetly. 

“Cal, for starters.” 

A tiny, irrational fear churned uncomfortably inside of her. There was something about a name that gave power to someone. She’d known this for a while. If she said it out loud, it would give him too much space inside her heart. A three-letter flag of conquered land. She didn’t think she could survive it. 

“How about partner in crime?” with the tip of her fingers she traced circles over his wrist. 

He didn’t look convinced. “Hmm, you can do better than that.” 

“My infuriating neighbor.” That tugged the corner of his lips in a dashing crooked smile. It made her bolder with her teasing. “My dearest pain in the ass, my husband-” ok, he liked that one because his fingers started to move again, working her steadily. But she was growing impatient, needy. “My sweet, caring, husband.” She exhaled and closed her eyes; his blazing gaze still burning in her mind. He felt how ready she was for him and slipped his long fingers under her panties. 

And she was gone. She held on to his arms as he played her like a violin, one hand between her thighs and the other alternating ministrations between her extremely sensitive breasts. She rolled her hips against his hand and he kept her steady. At some point, she started to call him endearments in Spanish and he cursed and buried his face in the crook of her neck again, sucking on the skin in a way that unraveled her further. 

Electric vibrations coursed through her veins lighting her up and consuming her sanity. 

He asked her to remove her underwear and she complied. Quite a task to pull off, since he didn’t stop his attentions for even a second. But she managed, carelessly kicking them off once she managed to pull them down to her knees. 

“Can you come for me, sweetheart?” he rasped in her ear, and Mare didn’t think she’d ever heard something more erotic. He was ruining her forever with nothing else but touch. 

"Yes.” She managed to whisper. 

He let go of her breast and moved his hand to her center, so he could fill her with his fingers and keep working the bundle of nerves with the other. It was almost shameful how promptly she spread her legs to accommodate him. At the moment, she couldn’t care less about silly things like grudges and pride. 

The heat and shivers climbed higher and higher. She rolled her hips with abandon and was only half aware of the way his length had hardened against her ass. Then he curled his fingers inside of her, finding the right spot, and white exploded behind her eyelids as her body was filled and poured liquid pleasure like molten gold. Gold, warm, perfect, like him. 

She covered her mouth with the pillow to stifle her moan. 

Her first climax hadn’t subsided completely yet he kept moving his fingers inside and against her. Overly sensitized, the second one came much easier. 

Their ragged breaths echoed in the moonlit room as the world became solid around her. He softly removed his wonderful hands and hugged her close to him enveloping her waist. 

Mare could barely move, exhausted and boneless, but she tried to turn around, reaching for his waistband. 

“I have to-” _return the favor_. But he grabbed her arm and returned it to her, shushing her as he nuzzled her hair. Her heart expanded three times in size, causing a lovely pain under the ribs. 

“You don’t have to do anything, Mare. Sleep.” 

“Tomorrow.” She stubbornly said, yawning. 

“Yes.” She could feel him grinning against the top of her head before he planted a quick kiss. “Tomorrow.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say a two-part chapter? I meant three.


	12. I ---- you to the moon and back (part 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About your comments last chapter... who hurt you guys?? half of you asking if it had been a dream lmao I could sense your past betrayals from across the globe. IT WASN'T a dream, breathe.  
> The writing gods and I had a fistfight at 3 am in an empty church parking lot for this chapter to be written.  
> I hope you enjoy it!

When had been the last time she’d slept this well? Probably when she was a careless teenager, before she became aware of economic struggles, before she started to realize how deleterious her shitty education had been to prepare her for the rest of her life, definitely before little Shade came to be. 

The clear white light of the chilly early morning flooded the room. 

During the night they had moved. She was nested in the crook of Tiberias’ arm, hugging his middle, wrapping her leg around one of his, resting her head on his chest, rising and falling serenely. He kept her secured to his side. Even in sleep, he seemed unwilling to let her go. It made her happier than it should. 

And hadn’t that been true for a while? That he made her happy. He made her mad as well, but the happiness was… weird. He was just doing his thing, existing, being a terrific friend for Shade, doing his best to raise Cori, trying to make his dreams come true and it was a beautiful thing to witness. Craning her neck to look up, rubbing the sleep off her eyes, she studied his face and it hit her, a new wave of luminous happiness that made her heart ache so much it was almost unbearable. 

It did help that he didn’t have bad angles. Even in his sleep, the asshole had the audacity of flaunting his sharp-enough-to-cut-glass jawline, his long dark lashes, and the strands of messy hair that fell over his brow. It was longer than when they’d met, reaching a little past the top of his ears, and she wanted to run her hands through it, kiss every millimeter of his stupid face- 

“Are you watching me sleep?” he smirked, eyes still closed. 

“No,” she replied, still unabashedly looking at him, feeling a blush creep to her cheeks. 

Tiberias cracked an eye open to check what he already knew and his smile widened as he closed it again. “You are.” 

“I’m watching you _pretending_ to be asleep.” She brushed the tip of her index finger over his eyelashes ever so slightly. “There’s a difference.” 

He sighed and hugged her closer to his side. “We should probably get up. We’re supposed to have breakfast before the…” 

Mare pinched his lips shut, making him look like a duck and his chest heaved in a silent laugh. 

“The alarm hasn’t gone off yet.” She hiked her leg a bit higher up between his thighs and wonder of wonders, some parts of him were very much awake already. “Keep pretending to be asleep.” 

Letting go of his lips, her hand traveled down his chin, the column of his throat, his chest. His breathing started to become shallow and to pick up its pace. 

She’d made the promise to return the favor in the spur of the moment, still her eagerness to touch him had nothing to do with that, and everything to do with the need to make him feel good. 

“That’s your thing, isn’t it? You have something for pretending,” his breathy voice was curious like he was trying to put the final piece of a puzzle. “You like role-playing?” He teased her. 

“Fake it till you make it.” Her palm lingered over his abdomen, savoring how his muscles tensed under her touch. “And sleeping people don’t talk so _shush_.” 

She’d wanted to do this since she’d seen him mowing his lawn on that infernal summer day. Raising his shirt so his skin was exposed she propped herself on her elbow to take a good look at him and bit her lip. This was probably the way dragons felt sitting on top of their piles of treasures, the burning greed, the possessiveness, the hunger (dragons didn’t feel the need to eat their treasure, though). 

Tiberias opened his eyes, probably wondering why she’d stopped moving and his gaze darkened when he saw how she was devouring him with her eyes. It sent a jolt of heat to her core. 

“Close your eyes,” she commanded with a steady voice. He obeyed so willingly, it did things to her. It made her mind go very creative all of the sudden. Maybe she would like to role-play with him. 

Not now though, they didn’t have enough time for the things she wanted. She filed that bit of knowledge with the rest of things she’d learned about him. 

Without further ceremony, she sneaked her hand under the waistband of his sweatpants and to her objective. He groaned low in his throat and fisted the silk at the waist of her nightie with one hand, and the sheets with the other. 

The fact that she couldn’t wrap her hand completely around his hardness made her throat go dry. 

If she were a nicer woman, she’d put him out of his misery, but she was too entranced looking at every reaction she coaxed out of him as she slowly got familiar with the novel section of anatomy. 

The veins in his neck stood out under the flushed skin as his grip tightened. When she reached his tip, she rolled her thumb and he moaned her name. Feeling both generous and greedy at the same time, she gave him what he needed, moving her hand around him with purpose, and dropped her mouth to his pectorals, biting and tasting and losing herself. His deep guttural sounds and the way he started to thrust after a while let her know he was almost there. 

She was so distracted leaving her mark all over his skin, it startled her when he grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her to look up at him, to his bronze eyes turned into infernos as he finally reached breaking point. Feeling him twitch and shiver under her was insignificant compared to the way his gaze was cutting deep into her bones and her soul, like a tree struck by lightning. 

“You play a terrible sleeping man part,” she said shakily to break the silence, all too aware of the way her heart drummed against her ears. 

Moving so fast it made the room spin, he pinned her to the mattress by the wrists, caging her hips with his knees. He looked crazed, a man at the end of his tether. 

“I don’t want to pretend anymore.” 

That had a variety of interpretations, but she would be playing dumb if she said she didn’t know which part he’d grown tired of. She was tired of pretending too. Tired of lying to herself and trying to keep him at arm's length when she wanted nothing more that become the air in his lungs. Effortlessly necessary. 

It was as if her heart paused its beating to allow her to speak, looking into his eyes, opening herself up to him. She needed him to see that, this time, she was telling nothing but the truth. 

“I don’t want–“ 

Three loud knocks on the door were followed by a strident voice. 

“Good morning, Calores!” it was Shelly. “Rise and shine!” 

Tiberias head whipped to the door as he growled a profoundly displeased “What?” 

And oh boy, if submissive, obedient Tiberias was a turn on, she had no words for the scandalous desire that surged within her watching him act like a brute. 

“I thought, since it is your first time chaperoning, I would come by and remind you we have to be up earlier than the kids.” 

“Yes, thanks. We have our alarms.” Mare interjected, her voice strained as his gaze returned to her and roamed over her scantily clad figure, dark and hungry. 

“Mare sweetie, you’re awake! Good! A handsome little boy is asking about his momma in the lobby! Quite the early riser!” 

The mention of Shade put the gears of her brain in motion. 

She moved to get up and he didn’t stop her, instead, he got on his feet first and helped her up. 

“OK, I’ll be there in five.” 

“I’ll wait for you here, darling. Hurry up.” She chirped, buoyant. 

Good lord, this woman was possessed by the devil. 

She awkwardly excused herself and he nodded understandingly. 

After quickly cleaning herself up in the bathroom and changing into presentable clothes, making sure to wear a sweater that covered her neck, she met with Shelly in the hallway. 

Shelly parroted nonstop about the schedule for the day and Mare wanted to shove her down a flight of stairs. Although, she chided herself, the woman _was_ trying to be helpful, and it wouldn’t hurt to learn to interact with these upper-class morons if she was going to be surrounded by them for the next decade of Shade’s education. 

In the middle of the lobby, sitting on one of the couches, a young boy sniffled, hugging a Batman plushy to his chest. 

Mare halted her steps. 

“Umm, that’s not…” 

“What do you mean?” Shelly was a terrible actress. “Oh! You thought I was talking about your kid. No!” She let out a cackle. “I just needed your help to calm him down as we, the rest of the parents, have a small briefing before breakfast.” 

Shelly patted her shoulder affectionately. “Cal can still come, though. It’s not like you both need to be there.” She said it like she was doing her a favor. “Also, the boy does look a lot like your Shade, so it should be easy to deal with him.” 

With a tight-lipped smile that accentuated the crow’s feet around her blue eyes, she left her alone, vibrating with rage. 

The boy looked nothing like Shade except in the fact that they had brown skin and curly hair… ah, so Shelly was one of _those_. That woman didn’t need to accumulate more points to get on her bad side, but she seemed hellbent on reaching the top of her list. 

With a calming breathing exercise, she approached the boy to figure out how to help him. It’s not like he was guilty of the evil intentions of a grown-ass woman. Which intentions were these? She feared the answer. 

~🛤️~

By the time she figured out how to deal with the boy’s severe case of homesickness, returned him to his room, and went to the dining hall, the briefing was done and the chaperone’s table was covered with breakfast food. 

Tiberias, who appeared dreadfully bored among the laughing parents, lit up like a Christmas tree when he spotted her. He had saved a seat next to him and had her breakfast tray all prepared. 

Her bitterness from Shelly’s earlier bitch move dissolved into nothing, leaving her feeling as if she walked on clouds. 

“Good morning,” she hadn’t realized she was grinning until Vanessa, a first-grade chaperone mom, pointed out how good she looked. _Grinning. In the morning._ What was happening to her? 

“Thank you.” She pulled the chair closer to her ‘husband’ before sitting down. “Nothing like a day of running all over the astronomy complex to get a full night of sleep.” 

The tray before her had granola, almond milk, coffee, orange juice, and mini sausages. Before she even opened her mouth, Tiberias answered, placing his arm over the back of her chair. 

“The sausages are TVP and the orange juice is fresh. I asked.” 

She stared at him for a second, feeling a surge of adoration that choked her up a little. Without even thinking about it, not caring how it would look for everyone else at the table, she leaned in and placed a tender kiss on his cheek. When she backed away he was blushing up to his ears and smiling so boyishly one wouldn’t guess the things he’d done to her last night. 

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled. 

“Ugh, you guys are so cute.” Vanessa stole her attention, taking a sip of a huge cup of tea, and then smacked her husband in the chest. “Rashid, why can’t you be attentive like that?” 

Rashid glanced at Tiberias in an ironic _‘See what you’ve done?’_ kind of way before replying to Vanessa. “Honey, you told me back when we were first dating that you hated when I bought you food.” 

“I didn’t! I said I didn’t like men choosing my meal on a date!” Everyone at the table laughed. “See, Mare? This is what awaits you after 10 years of marriage.” 

They didn’t seem so bad. The small glimpses of their relationship she’d caught the previous day showed her they had a lot of fun together. It had made her feel terribly lonely. 

That had been yesterday. Today, Tiberias arm behind her back made her feel at peace with everything in the world. What a difference a night could make. 

When not inflamed by Shelly’s nasty sense of humor, the other two couples were very nice. Since they were in charge of the first graders, they had met Cori and had a lot to say about her. 

“She almost staged a Coup in the girls' hallway last night; made Sister Wren and I fetch them all glasses of warm milk before going to sleep,” Vanessa laughed wiping away a tear from her eye. “I didn’t even need a blanket after that, I was sweating like a sinner in church when I went to sleep.” 

Yes, that sounded like Cori. 

“I’m so sorry about that-” Tiberias started, cringing. 

“It was a glass of milk, relax Cal.” She brushed him off, thankfully entertained by the girl. “And she wasn’t rude in the slightest.” 

“Oh, these kids,” Shelly clicked her tongue, not as charmed by Cori’s shenanigans as the rest of the table. “Thank goodness your room was on the same floor as theirs, Nessa.” then she turned to the youngest couple. “Oh, and about that, I only found out today the heating system on your floor was undergoing maintenance.” She placed a hand over her chest, horrified. “I am so terribly sorry. Please tell me neither of you woke up with a cold, I would feel so guilty.” 

What the fuck was wrong with her? Mare was on the verge of stabbing her with the butter knife until Tiberias draped his arm over her shoulders in what seemed a casual gesture when it was a calming one. 

“It was? We were too tired to notice,” he said innocently. 

Cool Max graced the table with his presence for the first time in the morning, he’d been there physically, but he hadn’t looked up from his phone even once. He looked at Tiberias with a wolfish grin and nodded, getting the innuendo. 

“I bet you were,” Max winked at Mare and she inwardly grimaced. _Ew_. 

Shelly looked offended his husband wasn’t siding with her in this high-school-level mental game of bullying the new kids. So this is what she was up to, getting a rise out of Mare. If Tiberias wasn’t next to her, she already would have taken the bait. In high school, she was an expert at shutting down mean girls with a violent approach. It was effective then, she didn’t see why it wouldn’t be now. 

The Children disrupted the dining hall, marching in semi-orderly rows behind their teachers to the buffet line. 

Sister Wren and Sister Arven showed up to their table a few minutes later, trays in hand. 

One would think the presence of two followers of the ways of Jesus Christ would make a bitch stand down (Yes, she’d earned that title after shoving them in a freezer of a room). One would be wrong. 

When Shelly’s eyes glinted with the birth of a new idea, Mare knew round number three of the morning was coming. She settled against Tiberias' side and peacefully drank her coffee. Whatever Shelly was about to say, would be just as useless as her previous attempts. 

“Cal dear, can you pass me the sugar?” she asked with a sickeningly sweet tone. “Thanks. I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while, why don’t you pick up your kids after school anymore? I’ve missed our little chats.” 

What was she talking about? Of course he picked up the kids from school. She fixed her eyes on the table, intent on ignoring her. 

“Even if Sister Wren here will disagree,” Shelly cheerfully sipped her orange juice, watching the young novice squirm uncomfortably on her seat. 

“I’m not sure what you mean, Mrs. Holton.” Wren stared at her with stormy grey eyes. 

“You don’t? But you seem so cozy with that young man. What’s his name? The one that picks up the kids now,” she tapped her chin pensively. 

“Ptolemus is their uncle,” Wren stood her ground, even if a blush did creep to her earnest face. “He asks me about the children’s progress and it’s my job to inform him.” 

Mare froze under Tiberias’ arm, getting nauseous and breaking in a cold sweat by the mere image of her little Shade trapped in a car where _that man_ was behind the wheel. Shade’s face morphed and it got mixed with her brother’s; covered in blood, unconscious, disfigured. 

How could she have forgotten Ptolemus? His friend, close enough to be considered family. She felt the guilt physically staining her skin, turning the purple _‘love bites’_ under the collar of her sweater into evidence of her weakness and her crime. 

Tiberias gave Shelly an explanation she was unable to hear. The damage was done. To the woman, it looked like she had revealed the sort of secret that implied he was cheating or some other petty secret, and his friend was covering up for him by picking up the kids from school. It was none of the sorts. Even in her twisted mind, she had no idea. 

“Excuse me, I’ll go check on the kids.” She managed to keep her tone emotionless and shrugged Tiberias’ arm off her shoulder. 

She walked about the tables without really seeing, only focusing on her own son. He was fine, but anything could have happened to him and she would’ve been totally ignorant about it until it was too late. 

They were leaving for their first activity of the day when a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the side of the trail and into the trees. It was Tiberias. His worried expression soured when she yanked her arm free from his grasp. 

“Don’t touch me.” 

He looked hurt and confused. “Is this because of me not driving the kids to school?” _Ptolemus had been driving them there as well?_ “I’m sorry. I was having a shitty week. I didn’t think it would upset you like this.” 

“You didn’t think—?” She was so angry she couldn’t even finish the sentence, it quickly turned into exhaustion. She wasn’t going to fight him, not when it could never end well. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she looked away and muttered. “This is pointless. You truly don’t see how what Ptolemus did was wrong. Let’s focus on surviving this trip and then don’t talk to me or my son.” 

“This _again_?” he asked beseechingly as if he couldn’t believe his ears. 

You could teach a man to fish but you couldn't teach a man to have basic morals and empathy. She didn’t think so. 

“Yes. If you’re tired of pretending we can get a divorce. Our arrangement served its purpose.” she said coldly. “Other than that, I have nothing to tell you.” 

She jogged to catch up with the group and didn’t look back to the place between the trees where she’d just left her heart rotting on the soil. 

~🛤️~🛤️~ 

What the fork had happened now? Shade thought for a minute his plan had worked, even if they hadn’t sat down together for more than ten minutes in the bus, Mom and Cal had spent a good amount of time sitting next to each other or walking together the night before, when they had gone on the funicular to the observatory at the top of the hill. 

This morning, for a second, he thought they were friends again! They had been smiling, huddled together, but Shade got distracted for a second, hearing his friend’s joke. When he looked back, Mom wasn’t at the grownup's table anymore. Instead, she was helping some kids at the other table, looking very sad, or maybe ill, and so did Cal. 

These adults were so complicated. 

After lunch, they packed their bags and had a free hour before the buses came to pick them up. All the kids rushed to the big, colorful spaceship at the playground. He just sat at the steps of the hotel and looked toward the misty mountains, feeling terribly gloom. 

Cori ran past him; the purple scarf aunt Gisa had made her trailing in the wind after her. Then she stopped and looked back at him. 

“Go, go. I’ll be there in a sec.” She told her group of friends. “Protect the top of the ship for me!” 

Cori skipped back to him and sat down on the same step. 

“What is it, big brother? Are you sad?” She tried to touch his cheek but he batted her hand away. 

“I’m not your brother,” he scowled. 

Cori shushed him, glaring at him. “Yes, _you are_. Our parents are married.” 

Hearing that only made him all the sadder. As if he was hungry and they made him play a pretend game where they had a fancy dinner. 

“I tried to fix them, Cor. I tried to make them be friends again, I asked my uncles for help,” he whispered leaning in, fearing Mom could overhear. “I told them about the pretend game and they helped. But it didn’t work. They are never talking again.” His shoulders sagged under the weight of his crushed expectations. 

His little sister- who he wished with all of his heart was his real sister because she was so much fun -got sad too, pouting into the distance. 

“We need the help of an expert.” She perked up with an idea. “Of the most intelligent person in the world.” 

“Who?” he furrowed his brow. 

“My aunt Eve, who else?” She opened her coat and pulled her phone from the inside pocket. 

“Are you allowed to use that?” 

“Only for emergencies.” With her chubby finger, she pressed one of the five contacts on the list for a video call. “This is an emergency.” 

Aunt Eve picked up almost immediately. 

The face of an incredibly beautiful woman (also, kind of intimidating) appeared on the screen. “Coriane, where are you? What happened?” 

“I have an emergency,” Cori sang, ecstatic to finally have an excuse to use the phone. Aunt Eve must have really been the most intelligent person in the world because she saw right through her niece and narrowed her sharp eyes. 

“You’re not in any immediate danger?” 

“My heart is in terrible danger! And so is daddy’s heart! And Mare’s,” she added making a pained expression. 

“And I keep hearing about that woman,” Eve said more to herself, then she noticed Shade. “Who is your-? Ah, Shade, I’ve also heard a lot about you. How are you?” She politely asked after Cori shoved the camera in his face. 

“Hi, Miss Evangeline. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He fidgeted with his thumbs over his lap. “We need your expertise in the adult world.” 

Eve quirked an eyebrow and smiled. “Go ahead.” 

They talked one over the other, going back to explain things when they believed certain parts needed clarification. By the end of their narration, their audience had increased numbers; an even more beautiful woman with hair the color of sunset had her chin propped on Eve’s shoulder, enraptured with the story. 

“Ok,” aunt Eve nodded with steely resolve in her eyes. “Here’s what you’re going to do.” 

~🛤️~🛤️~

“Mare! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Cori appeared before her. She’d been sulking in the lobby, playing Tetris on her phone, pretending to be immersed in serious work stuff. “Something very bad happened. I can’t find my new scarf,” the girl pouted. “I think I dropped it in the observatory yesterday.” 

“Are you sure?” Mare pushed away from the column she’d been leaning into. 

Coriane nodded vigorously. 

“Ok, we need someone with keys to the funicular... Hey, Tom!” 

The lanky, tall boy that Cori had antagonized the previous day wasn’t so bad. He quickly agreed to put the funicular in motion for her. They went to the platform and, unsurprisingly, Tiberias was waiting next to the car. 

A stab of longing in her chest made her look away, to the ascending tracks getting lost in the heavy mist that blanketed the mountains. 

Cori rambled about the places she thought she had dropped it and told them over and over she would _die_ without her new scarf. Tom went into the control cabin and, after using the ignition key, pressed a button. The door slid open and they went into the train. It was a wide rectangular space with seating only against the walls, and windows all around it to allow a panoramic view of the valley as it went up. 

Tiberias stood at the opposing side of the train, looking at everywhere but her. She was doing the same thing, so she had no right to be offended. It did still sting her. 

“Coriane, step away from the door,” Tiberias ordered with a tired voice, extending his hand toward her. 

Innocent bronze eyes widened as Cori said, “me?” 

Mare narrowed her eyes, smelling trouble like a hound, and looked to the control cabin just in time to see a tiny brown hand shoot up from under the control panel and press the same button Tom had just pressed. Cori leaped back to the platform right before the door slid shut. 

She was trapped inside and she wasn’t alone. Red lights blared inside her brain as she pressed herself to the window nearest to the cabin. 

“Tom, open up,” she ordered shakily. 

Shade went out of his hiding spot and handed over a phone to a bewildered-looking Tom. 

“Coriane! What are you doing? This is not funny,” Tiberias scolded his daughter, but the girl couldn’t look more unrepentant if she tried. 

“Sorry daddy,” she shrugged and walked over to Tom, who was hearing someone on the phone. His brow furrowed in confusion, then surprise, then- most worryingly -acceptance. 

The young man held the phone near a microphone and flipped a switch. Static and a loud screech filled the train with an unfamiliar female voice coming through the speakers. 

_“I can’t believe the shit I have to do for you. You owe me big time after this.”_ Her tone was incredibly petulant. _“Listen up, Calore. I’m done with your whining and Cori is tired of it too. Say everything you have to say to that woman- Shade’s mom, or else you’re not leaving.”_

He looked at the speakers like they’d announced his imminent death, and jumped to the door, trying to pry it open. 

Mare started to furiously knock the glass. “Tom, you open that door or I’ll kill you with my bare hands! Shade, you’re in big trouble!” 

“Tom! don’t do this, man! I’ll pay you twice what she offered!” Tiberias tried to bargain and the door gave away an inch. 

The female voice gave new orders through the phone pressed to Tom’s ear and he pulled a lever. The car started to slowly go up and so did her heart rate. 

The prisoners pressed themselves to the windows at the back, threatening and pleading desperately to the idiot college kid, who just popped a bubble gum and gave them a thumbs up. 

What had the woman on the phone offered him? Fucking Tom. Worse than a wolf indeed. 

The mist swallowed them up and soon their voices died leaving behind a silence so dense, it was almost unbreathable. They were alone and they would be until the all-powerful disembodied entity was satisfied. 

_“Evangeline,”_ he cursed under his breath, letting his forehead hit the glass. 

The all-powerful disembodied entity named Evangeline. Great. 

She gave him a sidelong glance and started to back away. Her skin remembered his touch and it couldn’t be trusted. 

Standing on the other side of the cart, the silence stretched between them like a rubber band, it would either break or shoot to someone’s eye, and both options sucked. 

The cart stopped at what she supposed must have been the middle of the tracks, high enough so they couldn’t try to escape on foot. This was ridiculous, they couldn’t be here all day. 

“Well?” She prompted, crossing her arms over her chest. 

He shot her a disdainful look that twisted the knife in her heart, didn’t say a word, and turned his gaze to the barely visible landscape beyond the windows. 

“We’re going to rot in here then.” 

Silence again. Seconds, minutes, hours, days. How long had it been? She felt the slight vibrations of the train when the wind picked up, heard the soft sway of the pastures of the hill as if they were crashing waves, her own heartbeat was deafening. Tiberias had become a statue; he was doing it on purpose. 

Breaking a window and rolling down the hill, risking a few broken bones and a cracked skull was looking more and more tempting by the minute. 

She tried to keep her tone as civil as possible when she snapped. 

“C’mon dude, your friend got us into this mess. What is so important for you to say? It can’t be that bad.” 

“You’ve made it pretty clear you don’t want to hear what I have to say,” he said dispassionately. 

_Turning her own words against her, smart_. But also really inconvenient. 

“If it will get us out of here then there’s nothing I would love to hear more.” She moved closer to him if only to get him to look at her. “Go ahead. I won’t even react, I promise.” 

Tiberias heaved a long sigh and rubbed his forehead before he spoke bitterly. “I like you.” 

_I like you_. Her soul melted and pooled at her feet, leaving her dizzy and breathless... even if part of her had already known it. Hearing it was beautiful, and it was horrible. 

He finally looked at her, broken and defeated behind his eyes, as if to confirm a suspicion. 

“And it doesn’t change anything, does it?” 

_Yes. No. Maybe?_ Her throat constricted painfully. She opened her mouth to answer but decided against it, knowing her voice would betray her. Instead, she shook her head. 

“I knew it. I mean, I had hopes...” he trailed off and laughed darkly, starting to pace around, raking his fingers through his hair. This was awful, watching him break apart in front of her. 

He had no right to make her feel like this. 

“What did you expect?” She spat, not caring that her voice bordered on a sob. “Seriously, Tiberias. I told you we were different on a fundamental level and _you didn’t listen_. How could I ever like- much less be with someone who excuses the likes of Ptolemus? You even put Shade in a car with him— I can’t even explain how fucked up that is!” She was screaming and flailing her arms and she probably looked crazy, but the fear that had gripped her that morning felt too recent. “For people like you, morals and politics are always these faraway things that exist in a hypothetical—” 

“Wow wow hold on for a minute. Ptolemus? You don’t know him at all. You don’t know the shit he had to go through, or what his family is like.” He walked up to her and patronizingly bent his knees to be at eye level, grabbing her shoulders. “Then how do you know so much about his moral code and by extent mine, pray tell?” His tone rose along with his evident bewilderment. 

“HE ALMOST KILLED MY BROTHER-” she pushed him away outraged, and hot tears spilled from her eyes. “You insensitive piece of shit! I shouldn’t have to tell you it was my brother for it to matter!” Tiberias paled, wincing. “The person he sent to the hospital and then paid off- because that’s what you privileged fucks do -before he decided to get his shit together.” She wiped her angry tears with the sweater sleeve. 

He stood there staring at her with his lips parted and blinking slowly, finally understanding. 

“I had no idea,” he said after Mare seemed somewhat collected. “Mare, the only ones who know what happened that night are his family.” 

_Oh_... that had always been a possibility. 

“Well, now that you know...” She glared at him, slowly regaining her composure. “Does it change anything?” If he was going to use her words against her, she would do the same. 

He actually considered it screwing up his face, squinting his eyes as if he was trying to figure out a difficult formula and not just condemning the actions of a horrible human being. _The gall_. 

“You know what?” he concluded. “It doesn’t really change anything. What he did was absolutely vile, and had he told me back then I would have reported him to the police myself. But that’s not what happened. One thing I do know is that his father forbade him from coming forward and that ate him up inside. It forced him to change his life. It’s not my story to tell.” He was so certain about it; it drove her up the wall. 

“What? Even after what I’ve told you? You would still be his friend?” 

“Yes. Not because I agree with it- I don’t -but because I know who he is _now_. People do change.” 

Unbelievable. He was not going to relieve her of the guilt of liking him and she hated him for it. _Add it to the list._

“You would befriend the devil,” she muttered, her excuses had run out and the only thing left to do was lashing out. 

“And back to square one. You hate me so much, don’t you?” he ran his hand through his hair again, making it look like a raven’s nest. He was smiling at her like he had last night, without any joy in his eyes. It burned, but she wouldn’t ignite this time around. “Then you’re going to despise me after hearing this. I do want people to like me, yes. _But you_. I was _desperate_ to get you to like me, it drove me fucking insane.” His frantic voice was so low, it poured straight from his chest like poison being released. “Not anymore. I won’t bend over backward and pretend I don’t have a soul on my own so you won’t feel guilty for being with me.” 

She had her hands in fists at the sides of her body. Every word cut gashes in her body and tore apart her will. 

“I won’t turn into the perfect image you have in your head. I’m a human. And I honestly am sorry for what happened with your brother, but I can’t fix it.” He started to cool off, closing his eyes and his tone returning to the kind one she adored. “If it is such a huge thing in your life, you shouldn’t bottle it up and only let it out through anger, you should talk about it.” He opened his eyes, there was nothing but understanding in them. “To your family, a friend, a therapist, I don’t know.” 

The last bit of a protecting grudge chipped away and fell to the ground under his scrutiny. It only left the certainty of a feeling so deep and scary it was like bungee jumping without the rope, or going on a roller-coaster without a seatbelt. 

This asshole. Who was he to make her let go of grudges? She liked them. She held them close to her chest like mementos. 

“Of all the continents.” She seethed. “Of all the towns, and streets in the world, you had to land in mine. Why?” Her blood reached a boiling point. “My life was so _peaceful_ before you showed up and ruined everything. I hate that you destroyed the ecosystem to build that monstrosity.” 

Yes, yes this felt good. Telling him everything once and for all. It was a new kind of drug and she couldn’t get enough. 

Tiberias rolled his eyes, mouthing a _‘here we go again’_ and turning away from her, walking up to the window. 

“Your car, your lawn, your designer clothes I hate them. I hate that everybody likes you. You make it look so easy.” She inhaled so abruptly it sounded like a hiccup. “I hate that you stole Shade’s sycamore tree and that you could stop his panic attack from happening when I never can. I hate that he likes you better than me. I hate that you can remain collected in the most ridiculous of situations and your hair and your eyes. I hate that I can’t sleep, or work, or- or breathe since I’ve met you.” She pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes and forced out a defeated groan that hurt her throat. “ _I hate you, Cal_. I hate you so much.” 

_Oh shit_. She realized a beat too late what had escaped her lips, and uncovered her eyes to look at him, hoping he hadn’t noticed. 

His back stiffened like a rock, hands placed on his hips. 

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. He closed the distance between them in two long strides and cupped her face bringing her lips to his with such force and determination it scattered her thoughts into a thousand insignificant words. 

Her body reacted before her mind could, gripping his sweater, his arm, anything that she could get her hands on. Kissing him felt like coming up for air after being drowning for months. 

His lips were soft but his tongue and his teeth were the opposite. Rough enough to make her arch her body against him. He surrounded her waist with his arm and then she was pressed to one of the walls. 

“Say it again,” he begged against her mouth. 

In any other circumstance, she would have toyed with him, take the chance to say that she hated him again (because she truly did). However, she was tragically human too and had no fight left in her. 

“Cal.” She caressed the side of his face and felt him shiver. His name tasted heavenly on her tongue. “Cal.” He kissed her again, or maybe she did. It didn’t matter. 

God, his hair was even softer than she had imagined. She ran her avid hands through it mussing it further. 

He kept trying to say something and she kept interrupting him by pressing their lips together in her drunken haze. It’s not that she didn’t want to hear him, it’s just his mouth was _right there_ , begging to be kissed. 

“Mare, please-” he exhaled. “Let me-” lifting a hand as a barrier to stop her, he chuckled and admired her adoringly as she scowled at the barrier. “I need to tell you something.” 

“Fine,” she begrudgingly stopped her efforts. “Do it quickly.” 

Cal (she couldn’t even remember what name she called him before) grinned, his whole aura was so radiant one might have actually mistaken him for a Roman deity. He held her face between his hands and said his piece. “I don’t just like you, I’m in love with you.” 

His confession was light and easy like a stream running down the mountainside.

The weather hadn't changed at all and still, she felt as if the skies had opened and poured warmth and the glow of the sun onto the earth.

“Me too,” she admitted. 

“Really?” He inquired, genuinely surprised. It made her laugh. He looked unsure of what to do next and on the verge of passing out (she felt like that a little too) “Cool. Would... would you like to go on a date?” 

“Cal, we’re technically married,” she deadpanned. 

“Married couples go on dates.” He held her waist and pulled her close, smiling seductively, as if he needed to seduce her. 

“Boring dates.” 

“Then it’s a good thing we’re not actually married.” He was bending down to kiss her again and she felt as jittery as if this was their first one. 

The speakers emitted a piercing sound before Tom’s unsure voice spoke to them. 

“Your buses are here so I can’t keep you there any longer... I, uh,” he cleared his throat. “If you didn’t sort your stuff out, could you tell Mrs. Samos that you did? She promised to pay for my tuition. I’m bringing you back down, please don’t kill me.” 

They shared an annoyed look, but neither of them had any real ill feelings for the guy. Evangeline on the other hand would have some explaining to do. 

Back on the platform, Shade and Cori were looking at the train approach, hanging by a thread. 

The door slid open and Mare kept a severe expression, crossing her arms over her chest as Shade tugged at the scarf around his neck nervously. Cori was wearing her scarf too, miraculously retrieved, and her eyes jumped from one adult to the other. 

“And?” Shade couldn’t stand it any longer. “Are you friends again?” 

They let them suffer the suspense for a beat before they both smiled and nodded. 

Cori and Shade went wild. They screamed _‘We did it’_ and other celebratory one-liners, running in circles. Then they hugged and patted each other’s backs as if they had successfully launched a rocket to the moon. 

She was laughing and when she looked at Cal, he was looking at her too. Her heart was full. 

Still smiling, she broke the news to her son. “You are so grounded, kid.” 

Shade stopped in the middle of a little victory dance and so did Cori. They gulped. 

“You’re not getting off the hook, Coriane.” Cal picked up the girl and held out his hand for Shade. Shade took it, grumbling something about the price of good deeds. “Just because it worked, doesn’t excuse all the naughty things you did.” 

Mare placed her hand over her son’s shoulder and squeezed comfortingly as they started toward the front of the hotel, where the buses would be. “We can go to the park on Sunday, though.” 

The kids cheered and she continued, “you’ll be raking fallen leaves as part of your punishment.” 

That earned a new wave of groans and complaints and she smirked. 

Having two kids was absolutely wonderful. So was having a neighbor and technically a husband... if Cal was both. 


	13. B - Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking the time to give a shout out to @rireausoleil, @honeyloverly, @elliekratzz, @lilyharvord, and @morebooks-pls for always sharing and leaving such lovely comments on Tumblr. And of course, those who comment here (but you already know ily) Y'all are the true MVPs.

“Your hair is crazy again, dad,” Coriane pointed out trying to press his chaotic hair back in place. Cal blushed thinking about what had made it look like that, thankfully a much more benign reason than the one the week before. 

“What do you mean again?” Mare sensed a story there and gave him a curious glance. 

The four members of the Calore-Barrow clan were walking back to the hotel, to the buses waiting there. Cori was in his left arm, resting her blond head on his shoulder, and Shade held on to his right hand. God, how much he’d missed the little guy and his mother. 

He’d missed them so much and had been so miserable he hadn’t even mustered the will to go out of the house for an entire week. Going out meant having to look at their dreamlike cottage, always flourishing with seasonal plants and painted a cheerful purple color when he felt like he was falling apart and rotting inside. A fairy kingdom from which he’d been banned. 

Ptolemus had been kind enough to offer to help him with the kids' transportation... that had been a mistake, apparently. But it was all good now. 

“The other day dad stopped combing his hair, and showering, and smiling,” Cori denounced him to Mare. “He was a big grump.” 

She looked forward and cleared her throat, probably putting two and two together. Out of the two of them, he seemed to have had a worse time during their separation. It didn’t matter now. 

“I’m really sorry, darling.” Cal gave his daughter a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll comb my offending hair from now on.” 

“You don’t have to. You don’t brush your hair and I don’t shower anymore?” Cori tried to bargain with a cheeky grin. 

“Nice try.” 

When they arrived to the buses, the sight of them laughing and smiling turned Shelly’s mask into one of forced cordiality. Maybe she had some problem with the way they had done their chaperone duties? She’d always seemed very nice when they talked by their cars outside the Academy, waiting for the children to come out. He could ask her on Monday. 

40 exhausted kids filled the two buses and the trip back was blessedly much less tiring than the one to get here. Mare didn’t have to sing, which was a pity. Not that she had a nice voice, but watching her disguise her contempt for nursery rhymes and kids’ songs had been hilarious. 

He finished helping with the luggage and settled on the seat next to his ‘wife’. He liked the word way too much for someone who’d had easily one of the worst marriage stories of the decade. She unthinkingly dropped her head on his shoulder and curled to his side. His soul exploded into a thousand fireworks for the third time that day. Would he ever get used to her? He pulled her closer in a one-armed hug. 

Mare kissed his shoulder as she got comfortable, fully intending to sleep away the two hours. She’d slept so little last night. 

“I was wondering if you’d really done that. Yesterday morning, on the ride here.” He smiled at the top of her head. 

“Maybe you bumped your big-ass arm to my mouth.” She smiled with her eyes closed. 

“Nah, that wasn’t it.” 

“What is it, Cal?” She lifted her face to give him a Mare-patented eye-roll. “You have a crush on me or something?” Her expression was nonchalant but the corners of her pretty mouth twitched in an effort not to laugh or smile. 

“If it wasn’t clear earlier,” he leaned in to whisper against her ear, “I’ll be happy to explain when we’re back home.” 

He backed away an inch to admire her expression. Her half-lidded eyes were foggy with some deep thought as she stared at his mouth. It was easy to read the yearning there when it so clearly matched his own. With a long sigh, she lay her head on his shoulder again and closed her eyes. He did the same, throwing his head back. 

Two hours. Just two hours. I was nothing... 

He’d already waited for her to give him the time of the day for 5 months. 

~📼~📼~

The salesman that had shown him the lot on Notch street back in March had spoken wonders of this hidden jewel. Sure, it was on a slope, and it was an hour or so away from Summerton, but where else could you get this peace and quiet? 

Cal had let himself feel the place, standing between the overgrown weeds of the empty lot. 

Chirping birds, the sway of branches and leaves, breeze with the scent of earth, moss, sap, and something else. A smell so heavenly he wished he could bottle it and carry it in his pocket and breathe it in at random moments throughout the day, for it was strong yet soothing. Rich, yet simple. He hadn’t even realized he’d closed his eyes until he opened them up and was staring straight at the house across the street through the dense foliage. So that was the source of the smell. 

An elder person must live there, he deduced looking at the old structure and the garden that seemed to have exploded into an abundance of colors and shapes all around the tiny cottage. It was spring after all. 

This was beautiful. Just what he was looking for Cori. 

“You were right. It’s perfect. Where do I sign?” 

~📼~

One of the main selling points of the neighbor had been how nice the people were, that’s why he made sure to send a gift basket to the purple house apologizing for the construction process. 

Cal should’ve been a bit more cautious taking what a salesman said at face value. 

When he’d moved in, he’d gone house by house, introducing himself and Cori to the people of Notch street. These were eccentric folks, to say the least. 

The first house he’d knocked, he was greeted by a lovely elder lady called Nany, wearing a pink sequin dress and a long, bushy fake beard. She’d talked to him with a Lakelander accent for the first few minutes and when he mentioned Harbor Bay, she switched to the accent of that location without even a blink. He left her property feeling positively confused. 

“She was _coo-coo_ ,” Cori commented making a swirling motion with her finger. 

“Don’t say that, Coriane. She was very nice.” 

The next neighbor was the opposite of nice. He barely had time to introduce himself before the short, bulky man started angrily listing the innumerable ways in which the construction process had personally (it wasn’t personal at all) attacked his existence. 

“Those Silver Eagles fanatics!” He even cursed at the construction crew. Apparently, one of the builders had been seen wearing a Silver Eagles hat. Another complaint on the list. “No wonder they spent most of the day slacking!” 

The building crew had finished the construction in record time. He didn’t contradict the man, though. 

“Yeah... well, I’m a Red Cubs fan so I wouldn’t know about it,” he said without any clue of what to say to placate him. That did the trick. 

“Aha!” he barked, suddenly smiling and clapping a heavy hand over his shoulder. “I knew I liked you, son! Good. Good. Welcome to the neighborhood, we should have a barbecue or something. I’m Nix, by the way.” 

As if he’d never been mad at all, Nix called his two daughters, a bit older than Coriane, to introduce them. After agreeing to a future barbecue, Cal took off with Cori in tow. 

“Angry man,” Cori concluded with an appalled expression, raising her eyebrows high. 

“Yes. But still nice.” _I think_ , he added to himself. 

Then he met Ada. She opened her door a crack, a book tucked under her arm. Since she was clearly busy, they left quickly. 

“Boring,” Cori yawned dragging her feet over the hot sidewalk. “Can we go back home now?” 

“We only have one more to go.” 

“Daddy, please I’m exhausted.” She stopped walking altogether. Strands of her honey-colored hair stuck to her brow and she looked miserable under the afternoon sun. 

“Ok, I’ll make up an excuse for you. Go home, drink water.” He let go of her hand and she smiled devilishly. “Do not play with the boxes.” 

She didn’t answer, just smiled wider and sprinted toward their new house. She was definitely going to play with the boxes. Cal wiped his brow with the back of his hand and rang the bell of the last house to the right on Notch street. 

~📼~

He stepped inside his house and Coriane leaped at his back from a pile of boxes next to the door. 

“I’m flying!” She held on to his neck so tightly he choked and caused him to drop the mail he’d been carrying. 

“What did I say about the boxes?” he rasped and went to the living room to deposit her safely on top of the couch. 

“I don’t know, it was so hot out there I couldn’t listen.” She jumped on it from side to side. “Who is our last neighbor?” 

He absentmindedly rubbed his neck, looking out the front window to the house he had thought belonged to a cute old person. He’d been wrong. 

“Her name is Mare. She has a son your age.” 

“Woohoo!” She kept jumping. “Is she pretty? Or is she nice?” 

“Uhm,” Well that was a tricky question. The woman had been covered in mud from head to toe, for God’s sake, and she’d replied cuttingly to his attempts at small talk. She did have a petite, toned body underneath all that dirt but he couldn’t exactly say that out loud. For many reasons, especially when Nanabel had raised him to be a feminist... or was it an ally? Shit, he always forgot the correct terms. The thing was, he hadn’t looked at her like that. He’d looked respectfully. 

And about the nice part. Well, not wanting to engage in small talk was perfectly understandable. 

“She was very interesting looking,” he answered awkwardly like he’d forgotten how to form basic sentences. 

Coriane stopped bouncing and pouted. 

“I want to go back home.” 

That came out of nowhere. It had been happening since they had left Archeon. 

“This is our new home.” He cupped her tiny sad face in his hands. “You’ll love it, I promise.” 

He would make sure of it. 

~📼~

Cal was readying himself to leave for a dinner party with his investors for _Burner’s_ and Cori had disappeared yet again. He called for her all over the huge house, the backyard and then he went to the front yard. 

There she was, the escapist, talking to Mare across the street. The woman looked uncomfortable and busy. _Ok, time to be cool. Don’t stare at her too much._

He chided Cori for ruining her second dress today and tried to pull her away, but she had other ideas. He forced himself to look up and say hi to the woman. 

It was the first time he saw her in all her mud-free glory and his suspicions were confirmed: she was beautiful. Even as she openly glared at him as if he was a weed to be pulled from her garden, fanning herself with a straw hat. Warm brown skin blushed thanks to the heat, high cheekbones, severe plump lips with a delightfully pronounced Cupid’s bow. This garden must have been imbibed in a spell of some kind because it was impossible to look away. 

She called him _Tiberias_ and the spell broke. 

Then Cori said Mare thought him handsome and his heart did a flip like a kid with a new trampoline. Undoubtedly, his daughter was taking something out of context but he couldn’t help himself and tried to flirt with Mare. Shame on him, he didn’t even know if she was a married woman. He looked for a ring but her hand was buried deep in her dirty overall’s pocket. 

“That’s very nice of you to say, thank you.” He gifted her with his best smile and she blushed. Was this working? 

“It’s no problem,” she smiled sweetly. _Dear Lord, she was the loveliest sight he’d ever beheld._ “I tend to recognize men that need expensive houses, flashy cars, and lots of compliments to compensate.” 

Ah, so it wasn’t working. Noted. 

He dragged Cori away and when he finally got her in the car in a clean dress, the little escapist shared some top priority intel as he buckled her seat. 

“Mare doesn’t have a husband or boyfriend and she likes boys.” 

“Coriane,” he groaned. She always did this, except this time he actually cared for the information she could provide. “Please stop trying to get me a girlfriend.” 

“But dad! She is very pretty and nice! Are you blind?” 

He wasn’t. He could clearly see the woman did not like him one bit. 

~📼~ 

Weeks passed and while he was busy preparing everything for Burner’s grand opening, he made sure to leave free space in his schedule in the mornings to tinker with the machines in his garage. Cori spent more and more time in Mare’s house and it worried him that she could be imposing on their neighbor, or annoying her, or offending her somehow. As beautiful as Mare was, she also seemed a very strict, narrow-minded person to put it mildly, and he knew Cori could be a handful. He worried one day the woman would lash out at his child just because the kid was too innocent yet to notice someone with a temper. 

Whenever they ran into each other, he would put on his best face and try to win her over. He failed every time. She barely looked at him with her ruthless brown eyes and it made him go a little mad every time. 

One of the fun things that happened over the course of those first weeks was that he started getting an unexpected visitor. He always left the garage door open, and a fateful morning, a scrawny boy with attentive big eyes was watching him work. 

“What are you doing?” He asked tilting his head to the side. 

“Shade, right?” The boy nodded. “I’m changing the filters.” 

“Filters are meant to catch dirt and bad particles. Does this car have many filters?” 

Wow, he was smart. Cal beckoned him to the open hood and to take a peek inside. He pointed at each filter, explaining what were they for. One minute he was talking about cars, then Shade got more interested in a small fact he had mentioned about Queen Victoria of England being super invested in technology developments during her reign. 

The kid was stoked. He couldn’t get enough of the useless history facts Cal fed him. Being a military history nerd had never been something he shared willingly since people got bored immediately, but Shade liked it. He started to look forward to spending a couple of hours every morning sharing cans of lukewarm sweet tea and about their interests. Shade told him stuff about nature and he told him about great battles in return. 

How could such a lively, polite, sweet kid be Mare’s son? It was a mystery. 

One summer afternoon, while he was struggling to understand treehouse blueprints he’d printed from the internet, he heard a distinctive scream coming from somewhere in the forest behind his backyard. Coriane. 

Adrenaline and fear kicked in with violence, he started to run in the direction of her voice. Unused to running over the thick underbrush, he tripped several times and got up just as fast, desperate to reach his distressed daughter. 

When he spotted her in the distance, he was relieved to see the situation wasn’t life-threatening and an adult already taking care of it. 

Cori was hugging and wrapping her legs around the low, horizontal branch of an oak tree, a little over 5 feet over the ground. Mare was right below, holding her arms up in case she fell. 

Walking as silently as he could, so he wouldn’t unintentionally startle Cori, the voices started to become clear. 

Mare’s tone was nothing like the one he’d gotten since they had met. She spoke firmly but with patience and kindness to tame a beast. 

“If I go up there with you, I can’t be here to catch you if you slip.” 

“But I’m scared,” Cori cried and anxiously hugged the branch. 

“It’s ok. It’s fine to be scared, it makes your body more alert and your muscles stronger,” she reassured her. “Besides, if you learn how to go down now, you won’t be scared next time.” 

Cal was close enough now to distinguish Cori’s golden eyes considering the idea. 

“And I will be able to climb higher trees?” She sniffed. “Like Shade?” 

Mare laughed softly. “Higher trees, yes. You need to be a bit taller to climb the same trees Shade does. You’ll get there eventually.” 

“You can do it, Cor,” Shade was sitting on the horizontal branch, holding on to the tree trunk, extending his hand to the scared girl. 

“Of course I can!” She said indignantly, but added more shyly, addressing Mare. “Can you tell me how?” 

She nodded and started to give indications that Cori shakily followed at first, crawling backward, only to get more confident as she got closer to Shade. 

Cal felt his soul return to his body when Coriane landed on her feet on the ground. 

“I did it!” She squealed; her face still swollen from crying. 

Mare crouched down before her, grinning. “Yes! And it wasn’t so bad either, was it?” she wiped the trails of tears from Cori’s cheeks, then cleaned her runny nose using the hem of her own T-shirt without even thinking about it. The offhanded way she did it, caring for Coriane with such tenderness, and everything about the brief scene left him rooted on the spot as if he’d been shot. Except, instead of bleeding out, his chest was filling with amazement and something else he couldn’t quite place. 

“It was fun. I want to go again.” 

“The only place we’re going is to wash those hands and to eat a good _merienda_.” She took Cori’s hand while Shade took her other hand. “Otherwise, your dad won’t let you come over to play with Shade again.” 

“What are we having for _meh-ree-end-ah_?” She asked pronouncing the word carefully. 

Cal had heard Cori say that word many times the past few weeks and he’d forgotten to ask where had she learned it. Here was the answer. 

“Carrot cake and a glass of milk.” Their conversation started to fade away as they kept walking and got lost between the trees in the direction of the Barrow’s house. 

He couldn’t move for a while after that, staring at the oak tree illuminated by the mellow afternoon glow. A change in perspective, a different lighting, and the most amazing things could be discovered. 

After that, he didn’t try to keep his daughter from going over to Mare’s house ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Merienda"_ : is an afternoon tea.


	14. A song for every occasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support guys! This fic kicked ass in the poll I posted on Tumblr, I honestly would've never imagined you would like it so much.

It was Sunday, it was sunny, and he had the perfect energizing playlist to finally use his brand-new lawnmower. 

With Cori over at the Barrow’s house, Cal was free to blast the music and take his time in the backyard. Then he went to the front of the house, humming the tune of American Woman. Physical exertion and the sun burning his skin, this was what life was all about; not sitting hours on end, breathing artificial cool air in boring meetings where money and the stock market were the main topics on the agenda. No, sir. 

He wiped the sweat from his face with his T-shirt and his mind immediately reminded him of Mare. The way she hadn’t minded getting her clothes covered with Coriane’s snot and tears to provide the girl comfort. It was oddly endearing. 

The song ended and _Thunderstruck_ started playing. Damn what a great song, he thought as he bounced his head, free as a lunatic. When he did a turn, out of the corner of his eye he spotted the very woman he’d just been thinking about. 

Across the street, he could see her through the window over the sink (he assumed since she had a sponge and a plate in her hands) leaning on her elbows and that was it... she wasn’t even moving. Why wasn’t she moving? Maybe she was about to tell him to keep quiet, for he was singing quite loudly. But that didn’t happen. As he kept pushing the machine, he subtly peeked at her until it hit him in a wave of manly pride that made him straighten his back, _she was gaping at him_. 

_Alright, miss Barrow_. So, she wasn’t as immune to him as she made it seem. Almost giddy with the realization, he tugged his shirt off, wiped his brow, and threw it to the side. Who was he to deny her what she clearly was curious about? It was the good Samaritan thing to do, to parade his half-naked body for her to appreciate. 

_You can have it if you want it_. The thought came unbidden and he felt a bit hotter. It had been a long while since he’d entertained the notion of being intimate with anyone. 

The song ended and, across the street, Shade crawled through the garden and opened the door. The kids had been running about pretending to be superheroes. 

“Mom! Stop wasting water!” Shade scolded her as soon as he stepped a foot inside his house. 

That broke his titanic effort to not look straight at her and his eyes shot like magnets to where they’d been itching to go. ‘Deer caught in the headlights’ had never been a more suitable phrase. 

Mare disappeared behind the window ledge in a blink. Luckily, Shade was there to rat her out. 

“Mommy, what are you doing?” he asked and after a pause, the kid closed the door. 

Cal placed the side of his fist over his mouth to keep from laughing for an hour. His insides had been charged and overloaded with an exhilaration that felt close to a victory. 

And he just kept winning, because after an awkward push and pull between the Barrows standing in the kitchen. Mare emerged from her house looking positively gloomy, carrying a plate of pie with ice cream and a glass of cold water. Her loose-fitting white sundress made her look like a wood nymph. 

He’d put his shirt back on by the time she got there. There was no need to be crass. 

“I could’ve gone over. It really was no problem.” 

“I didn’t want to interrupt your... activities,” she held out the plate to him and scrutinized his lawn with patent disdain. 

He babbled on thanking her, talking about his favorite ice cream, all too excited to be this close to her. Shoving a spoonful of pie and ice cream in his mouth, he couldn’t look away from her imposing profile. Her hair was up in a messy bun, leaving an unobstructed view of the column of flesh going from under her jawline to her collarbone. His mind went hazy. 

She was telling him she’d learned to make the pie because it was Shade’s favorite. Meanwhile, taking another bite, sweet vanilla coating his tongue, he started to wonder what her skin tasted like. God, he was such an animal. 

“They are very friendly,” Mare replied to his comment about her family. “My mom took pity on your soul, working in the heat and all that.” 

The woman wouldn’t take pity in him at all if she knew the thoughts he was having toward her daughter. He kept pondering, his eyes carefully roaming over her blushed cheeks, her elegant chin. Would she taste like apples? Or a more citric flavor? Cori had mentioned lemon trees in Mare’s backyard. 

The prettiest woman he’d ever seen, giving him the nastiest stink eye he’d ever received. Sweet irony. The heat had to be playing tricks on his mind because it only made her seem prettier. 

Feeling lightheaded, he tried to coax a confession out of her. 

“And you? You seemed pretty interested in my landscaping.” Her eyes lost their usual angry edge for a second, replaced with adorable embarrassment, and the blush that adorned her cheeks deepened. “I can give you some tips if you want,” he offered. 

Mare launched into an environmentalist rant about bees. While she was probably right, she was also deflecting. 

Willing himself to clear his head, he started to enjoy the fact that they were having a normal conversation. 

“I had no idea. And I didn’t know the bees were such a sensitive subject for you, miss Barrow.” 

“They’re important for the planet, Tiberias. And, of course you wouldn’t know what I care about. You don’t know the first thing about me.” 

“That’s where you’re wrong. I know many things about you.” Cori and Shade had been sharing bits and pieces of information he’d been collecting like a scavenger. 

Her favorite color was purple. She worked as an engineer at the hydroelectric power plant. She drank beer instead of wine. She’d taken Shade to her college classes since he was a baby, which led Cal to deduce a father had never been in the picture. What kind of idiot would leave a woman like her? He couldn’t fathom. 

They talked for a few more minutes. Short precious minutes where she let her armor fall an inch, it was a thing of beauty. The way her eyes the color of the river and earth softened, displaying an almost childlike curiosity toward him. If his heart were a bird, it would’ve been fluttering its wings and chirping, joining the chorus of cicadas playing their afternoon song. 

He indicated to her back with his chin. He knew the moment couldn’t last forever, so he let it go. “Your family isn’t looking anymore.” 

“What?” She blinked like she didn’t know where she was and twisted around to see what he meant. 

“They’ve been gone for a while, actually. You don’t have to keep acting friendly.” He tried to hide his disappointment with a smug tone and gave her back the empty plate. 

“I don’t?” she smirked, devilish, as she extended the glass of water to him, but just before he grabbed it, she took a step back and slowly poured the water onto the grass without taking her eyes off his. “It wounds me you would think I’m acting.” 

What a fascinating, cruel, little creature she was. The bird in his chest batted its wings faster and he couldn’t help but to grin like a fool. 

“Thanks for the pie,” _the best thing I’ve ever had_. But, if he was being honest, she could’ve fed him coals and he would’ve enjoyed them. 

“Sure. Feel free to keep murdering the ecosystem now.” 

He watched Mare go feeling the need to make her laugh, to make her turn around. “I will think about what you said, and feel free to keep watching from the kitchen.” He shouted after her, knowing deep down she would hate that he got the last word. 

The kitchen window slammed shut a second after she went into her house. _Bang_ and the bird in his chest stopped singing. 

He’d never been good at reading people. Still, she was a puzzle he was eager to put together. 

~🎵~

They had shared a nice moment that Sunday afternoon. A small step that brought them closer to being amiable with each other, or friends! If only he could stop thinking about how attractive she was for two seconds 

However, the timing wasn't the best. Right now, all of his efforts were invested in getting Coriane accepted into the Saint Victoria Academy. 

His mother had studied there. He remembered so little about her, and still, after reading her journals, he felt closer to her than to his father. 

As dictated by the late Coriane Jacos’ will, her journals should've been given to him by the time he turned 18. This didn’t happen. The diaries had been lost and it had taken uncle Julian years to track them. Julian said it had been Elara’s doing, and at first Cal didn’t want to believe it, but he came to accept the uncomfortable truth eventually. 

When his mother’s words reached his hands, he’d been 23 years old and stuck in a nightmare of a marriage. 

Even through time and death, his mother’s words inspired him day by day, year after year, to build the courage to be his own person. To make the right choice for Cori. 

Coriane Jacos had been a prisoner of the illness inside her mind and the toxic environment of Norta’s elite. It took a lot of spilled blood, selfishness, and betrayals to hold on to your spot in that world. 

For his own health and for his heart (full property of a bright, mischievous girl named Coriane Calore) he decided to leave and retrace the steps of his mother’s legacy. Honor it somehow. 

What better way to do so than having Cori study in the place that once was her grandmother’s refuge? He’d started the paperwork months ago, back when he was still in Archeon, coordinating the construction of the house and crawling out of his father’s pedestal. 

Monday morning he was over at Burner’s drumming his fingers on the counter, waiting for an auto parts’ shipment to arrive while Cori painted a portrait of aunt Eve on the mini easel he’d set up for her behind the counter. The tranquil morning was interrupted by the ‘ding’ of a notification; an email letting him know Cori’s application got to the interview part of the process. The Red Cubs could have won the football season and it wouldn’t have made him half as euphoric as that email. 

He picked Cori off the ground and she yelped. Cal spun her around in circles. “We got the interview!” He announced, triumphant, and his daughter started to cheer. 

“Yay! Play our happy song!” 

Cal held her with one arm to look for the song on his phone. Little Bitty Pretty One started to play from the speakers and Cal set Cori on top of the counter so she could dance with him, spinning him around at the upbeat rhythm of the cheerful song. 

“You’ll love the school, honey. It looks like a castle.” They took two steps to the left, two to the right, looking incredibly silly but happy. 

“We have to celebrate!” Cori shimmied her shoulders forward, golden eyes twinkling like a Christmas tree, and Cal laughed. 

“Yes, anything you want.” 

“Lemonade!” 

Ok, that was a simple request considering she had exquisite tastes. Cori spun him around again under her short arm, he had to duck slightly as he spun in place. 

Two customers were standing at the entrance, staring at them. Cal stopped abruptly and placed Cori back on the floor. 

“Hi!” He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to compress his overwhelming joy into something more palatable for customer service. “How can I help you?” 

~🎵~ 

There was an unpaved road behind his house that passed through the thick of the woods and led to his garage. It was impractical and longer than the usual route, but that day he felt like taking the long road. Enjoying the view, Cori and him sang out of tune to their favorite songs (well, he was the one out of tune). Sometimes, time was better invested in wasting it with the ones you loved. 

After parking, Cori dragged him by the hand in the direction of the Barrow’s. 

“Is the best place in the world. I told you she has trees of every fruit. We have to copy that,” the girl rattled on as Mare’s driveway came into view from behind the bushes. Cori gasped. “Foam! Yay!” 

Holy. Fuck. 

His mind turned off completely. Like a fuse exploding and leaving a house in darkness, but instead of a regular old lack of light, the sparks had come into contact with lighter fluid and he felt the beginning of fires taking over. 

Mare was stretching like a cat to reach the top of her car as water and foam licked at her skin, plastering her criminally, wonderfully tiny clothes to her body. She turned toward Cori and said things. What things exactly? He couldn’t tell, his mind was unable to process speech at the moment. 

Coriane tugged on his hand. “Ask her,” she instructed him. 

Only then Mare directed her attention toward him and smiled in a way that must have made angels jealous. 

Unadulterated pleasure dripped from her gaze like the water dripping down her jean shorts to her fit, smooth legs. Fuck. His blood rushed to unfortunate locations and he clenched his jaw, trying to think of something vile, like a puppy getting kicked. All he came up with was a puppy licking her neck as she laughed, but the image twisted and now he was the one giving her a good, long lick along the column of her throat. It absolutely did not help his situation. 

Ask her... ah yes. The lemonade. 

“Cori mentioned how nice your lemons were-” _he wasn’t thinking of her boobs, it just came out wrong._ “Your lemon trees. Would you mind...?” he gestured vaguely with his hand when he ran out of words. 

“Grab as many as you want, Cori. There’s a basket in the back porch.” 

Cori disappeared around the side of the house. 

Say something. Do something. Stop staring. He shoved his hands in his pockets feeling his lungs had filled with the hot embers of the fire inside of him and kept him from breathing properly. 

“You shouldn't wash your car under the sun.” _Or, wash it like this every day, please_. He cleared his throat. “It leaves streaks.” 

Mare approached him, peering up at him through her lashes, intoxicating him. She raised her arms to arrange her ponytail and Cal fell for the trap like a fool... or maybe he was just a pervert. Her tank top rode up and her abdomen was bared, the waistband of her shorts clinging to her hipbones. 

Clenching his hands and feeling every muscle in his body nearly convulse with the excess of heat, he looked away in what he hoped was a subtle way. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” her voice reached him like a siren song. “It was a good idea to make lemonade. It’s the perfect day for that.” 

He twisted his face back toward her and locked his eyes on hers, even though the glimmering, covered in foam curves of her breasts became more prominent as she crossed her arms under them. _Cal, you piece of shit, if you look down, I’ll beat the crap out of you_ , he threatened himself. 

“Yeah, I’m thirsty.” He was literally aching to drink from her, foam and all. LEMONADE, he was here for lemonade. “I mean we are. Me and Coriane, my daughter.” 

Her eyes sparkled with malice, a smirk tugging at her plump lips. 

“Tiberias, are you ok? You look a bit heated. Must’ve been all that time you spent under the sun yesterday.” 

Whatever semblance of control he’d kept so far, broke as soon as the taunting name was pronounced. 

“Why do you keep calling me that?” He furrowed his brow. 

“You mean your name?” 

“I told you I prefer Cal.” 

“Thanks for the suggestion but I’m sticking with Tiberias.” 

His eyes darkened further and he took a step forward. “Don’t call me that.” 

He needed her to say it, to repeat it, to moan it as she finally stopped torturing him by pretending he didn’t exist. 

“Or what, _Tiberias_?” she struck like a serpent, eyes blazing and dark. 

Cal pressed forward without a shred of rational thought, just the animalistic impulse to grab her and eat her alive. Mare’s defiance turned into wide-eyed fear, making him stop abruptly. Guilt and regret made his temperature drop enough for his brain to become functional again. 

Shit, shit, shit. 

Coriane showed up carrying a basket with lemons, saving him from making more of a fool of himself. A perfect excuse to switch to the safe, family-friendly topic of her new school. 

He was practically running away back to his house, but he risked one last glance at her to make sure he hadn’t caused some irreparable damage to their precarious relationship by being a horny asshole. 

Mare looked awfully pleased with herself, and when she caught him looking back, she smirked. His heart skipped a beat. 

Well, that was a relief... but also, very confusing. 

~🎵~ 

There are many ways he’d envisioned the morning of the interview to proceed. None of those included him ending up committing fraud by being in a fake marriage with Mare Barrow, of all people. 

The Reverend Mother had shoved the proverbial door closed on their faces and Mare had kicked it back open with a lie so bold, he couldn’t but respect the massive set of balls it required. Even if it was, technically, illegal. 

He’d seen in slow motion how the idea cemented itself behind her eyes, and how she’d reached for his hand as if was a natural thing between them and not literally the first time they touched. He’d turned his palm upward to receive her small, warm hand, and electricity shot up his arm at the contact. 

“There must have been a mistake because _we_ are married.” 

It felt as if he’d been kicked square in the chest. 

Blonos’ creepily terse skin formed two deep creases between her thin eyebrows. 

“I told you, Reverend Mother.” Sister Wren turned to the eldest woman, speaking with a patient tone as she leaned forward to point at some papers on the desk. “Their address matches in the files and the kids kept mentioning each other and both of their parents during the interview.” 

“This situation might be a bit modern for me.” Blonos raised her hand to silence Sister Skonos. “Care to clarify?” 

He shared a glance with Mare, and the lack of animosity toward him was enough to let him know she was freaking out. He would be freaking out too if his brain had fully assumed how royally fucked up their situation was. Instead, he was half waiting to wake up from this bizarre dream. 

“Yes.” Mare lowered her eyes to their joined hands, then back to Blonos. “Here´s the thing. I come from a long line of Barrows, and my husband from a long line of Calores. It didn’t feel right for either of us to have to give up our last names. Besides, it’s better for the kids to add a last name to the one they already have than to change it. Don’t you think?” 

“Smart thinking,” Sister Wren smiled encouragingly. 

Mare’s hand was sweating so bad it was turning slippery. She needed a break, so he gave it to her, holding on to her tightly. 

“We already had to move from Archeon, I didn’t want to add yet another change for Coriane.” His voice was way steadier than he felt. But he did see Mare relax after he backed her up. 

Blonos quirked an eyebrow and added drily after taking a quick glance at their hands. “No wedding bands?” 

His 'wife' had an answer ready and it was so _her_ , that he almost chuckled. 

“Gold mining poisons millions of gallons of water every year, and that’s without mentioning the child labor employed in some-” 

Patting the back of her hand softly, he thought of something the devout woman would like more. 

It’s not that he had started planning the ideal wedding since he’d watched her from afar that time she’d helped Cori get down from the tree. It’s something that had happened. People thought of perfect weddings, and vows, and honeymoons all of the time. Right? 

“And the wedding was such a casual affair; it didn’t fit the mood.” He started to get his head in the game, finally accepting that this was actually happening. Time to turn up his charm. “After traveling back and forth and keeping a long-distance relationship for a year, we were tired.” He heaved a weary sigh and shook his head slightly as if reminiscing of the time that had never existed. “We just wanted to be together, so we went on a vacation with the kids to Italy, and we got married in the same _cappella_ I was baptized. The priest is a long time family friend, he was delighted to do us the favor.” He finished with a dashing smile. 

Mare was subtly giving him a weird look. Oh dear, maybe she was realizing this was too elaborate a story to just come up with it on the spot. His neck felt itchy, but he resisted the urge to nervously scratch it. 

“Really?” the Reverend Mother’s steely features softened into something almost human. “I have a lot of Italian friends from my travels to meet the Holy Father. What region did you say it was?” 

_Yes! Seal the deal_. He was great at this part. 

“La Toscana. My great grandfather was from Arezzo. If you ever visit, you’ll be more than welcome to stay at the Calore Villa.” 

The woman lowered her face to hide a faint blush. _Sold_. She apologized for the confusion, shook their hands, and sent them on their merry way. 

“Welcome to Sain Victoria Academy,” she said with a tight smile, but all he could think about was that he just turned, in a weird, complicated way, into a married man.


End file.
